By:Kebba AF Touray
The Medical and Dental Councils together with the Pharmacy and Medical Control Agency and the Nursing and Midwives Council, yesterday June 12th, presented their respective reports to the National Assembly Select Committee on Health, at the Legislative House in Banjul.
Dr. Melville George, head of the Medical and Dental Council, expressed delight on the presentation of his Council’s report to the committee. He referred to the report as a culmination of a series of consultations among his Council, ending up with such comprehensive report that reflects the minds of members of the Council.
Essa Marenah, the Chairperson of the Pharmacy Council, said their engagement with the committee, reflects their common goal of improving the health care delivery system; that their presentation is in response to questions raised by members of the NA Select Committee on Health.
Mafugi Bojang of the Nursing and Midwives Council, said convening such important meeting by the different Councils responsible for regulation in diverse aspects, is pivotal; that this will avail them the platform to share ideas and knowledge, geared towards the attainment of a common goal.
Lamin Samateh of the Medicine Control Agency, echoed similar sentiments and said he looks forward to a deliberation date to be fixed for the scrutiny of his agency’s report.
Parliamentarians, Saikou Marong, Bakary Camara, Aamadou Camara and Ndey Yassin Secka, assured the Council representatives of their cooperation and said justice will be done to their various reports which will go a long way in improving the health sector of the country, to ensure quality, affordable, efficient and effective health care for the citizenry.
Ousman Sillah, the Chairman of Select Committee, said the committee was set up in accordance with Section 102(a) and 109 (e) of the 1997 Constitution and Standing Order Number 85 of the National Assembly; that the engagement of the Councils is part of the statutory functions of the Committee to know the challenges, with a view to help mitigating them.
Sillah said the Councils are created by an Act of Parliament with a view to ensuring that lives are saved, a task he described as gigantic and sacred.
“We cannot do justice to our oversight responsibilities, the medical councils and issues regarding them, without a comprehensive reports of the councils, that will be scrutinized by the committee, to know the constrains with a view to solving them”, he said
He assured the various Councils that the committee will schedule a convenient time for them deliberate and scrutinize their various reports and subsequent adoption.
All the aforementioned reports were officially presented to the committee by the various council heads and now await for justice to take its course on them, through parliamentary scrutiny, consideration and adoption.
