CRS to Distribute More Bed Nets

The Daily Observer (Banjul)

Bekai Njie

1 June 2011

The Catholic Relief Service (CRS) will Friday distribute more longlasting mosquito bed nets to health facilities and other institutions from across the country. The nets will be given out to the beneficiaries at CRS’s Warehouse in Kanifing.

This information was disclosed at a press briefing organised by CRS in collaboration with the Health Promotion and Development Organisation. This forthcoming distribution, according to CRS, follows a massive distribution of over 600,000 nets as part of launching distribution of the 700,000 bed nets. It is mainly aimed at targeting health facilities and other relevant institutions such as prisons and other places.

Speaking at the press briefing, Ebrima Jarju, head of programmes at CRS, disclosed that the organisation has been in existence in The Gambia since 1964 and was established with an ultimate aim to work with churches, health institutions as well as the government of The Gambia in promoting development initiatives. He explained that CRS with its partners was responsible for the last distribution of the longlasting bed nets across the country with a funding from the Global Fund.

Jarju further disclosed that as part of the distribution campaign, CRS will soon organise a training for 550 extension workers across the country with a view to help sensitise the communities about the importance of bed nets. He said the CRS with its partners will also carry out an exercise to distribute nets to people who were unavoidably missed during the last campaign and will follow a massive hang up exercise as well as the intensification of behaviour change communication activities throughout the country with view to promote the use of LLINs. He also told the gathering that the Global Fund expressed satisfaction over the way the last distribution exercise was conducted.

For his part, Baba Balajo, the project manager of CRS, disclosed that Friday’s distribution will soon be followed by a gradual distribution of bed nets in 118 communities across the country. He added that the distribution will target pregnant women and children under one year and will last for 12 months. He explained that the beneficiaries will be collecting their nets from their various community distribution points.

The CRS officials also called on the general public to use the nets.

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