GAMBIA – The Republic of the Gambia has secured a new medical oxygen generation plant at Ndemban Hospital in Bakau from the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) with an aim to enhance healthcare delivery.
TİKA announced in an official statement that the oxygen generation plant, which is the first one of its kind at the hospitals in the Gambia, will meet the daily oxygen needs of the hospital with its daily oxygen generation capacity of 100 cylinders.
“The Ministry of Health of the Gambia needs to procure oxygen from abroad at a very high cost, since public hospitals in the Gambia do not have an adequate supply of medical oxygen to meet the needs of patients,” the Turkish agency said.
The agency further said that the plant built by TİKA will save lives by generating oxygen, which is critical in health services, in an economical and sustainable manner under the Ministry of Health of the Gambia.
The opening ceremony held for the plant at Ndemban Hospital saw the attendance of the Minister of Health of the Gambia Dr. Amadou Samateh and the Republic of Türkiye’s Ambassador to Banjul Tolga Bermek.
TİKA’s Coordinator in the Gambia Şule Bayar, officials of the Ministry of Health and the Gambian hospital along with representatives of media organizations were also present during the inauguration ceremony for the oxygen generation plant.
Gambia’s Minister of Health lauded efforts of Türkiye and TİKA while noting that they would previously meet the oxygen needs of public hospitals by purchasing oxygen from private companies at a high cost.
Dr. Amadou Samateh further said that the plant will help solve the oxygen shortage in the country and that patients will no longer need to travel to other countries for treatment.
“The relations between the Gambia and Türkiye are getting stronger day by day and that Türkiye is implementing projects in every field in the Gambia through TİKA,” Tolga Bermek said in his speech at the ceremony.
He highlighted that Türkiye’s great support for the Gambia during the COVID-19 pandemic was critical while stressing about the importance of the new oxygen generation plant for the health sector.
In addition, TİKA’s Coordinator Şule Bayar disclosed that they were happy to share Türkiye’s technology and experience with the Gambia’s health sector through TİKA.
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