Banjul, 17th April 2025: The Country Representative of UNICEF The Gambia has reaffirmed her office’s commitment to supporting The Gambia’s efforts to building resilient systems that deliver sustainable results for every Gambian child.
Ms. Nafisa Binte Shafique made this statement on last week, during the official inauguration of the Steering Committee to facilitate UNICE-Gambia Government Programme for Children 2024-2028 implementation, held at State House in Banjul.
“Together, we can continue to make progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and ensuring a brighter future for all children,” the UNICEF Gambia office boss explained.
She thanked the Minister of Public Service, Hon. Baboucarr Bouy and his entire staff for their leadership, partnership and dedication to improving the lives of children in The Gambia.
She acknowledged the commitment of the Government of The Gambia in ensuring that every child attains her or his basic human rights; such as access to education, health, nutrition, child protection, and social protection services to help address child poverty, inequalities, and vulnerabilities among children and adolescents.
The country Rep expressed hope that their continued strong collaboration will show meaningful changes in the way they coordinate and monitor investments made on behalf of children, adolescents, and their families.
Madam Shafique described 2025 as an important year for The Gambia and for UNICEF in The Gambia. “This year, Gambia celebrated 60th anniversary of its independence, providing an opportunity to assess the progress made and to look forward to the future with hope and optimism for its population, including children and the most vulnerable.
She noted that in early February 2025, The Gambia received the Concluding Observations from the CRC Committee, following the submission of its State Party Report, which she said represents a cornerstone for the country to accelerate its efforts in promoting and protecting child rights. She also asserted that the implementation and monitoring of these Concluding Observations require the active contribution of various ministries and stakeholders.
Ms. Nafisa Binte Shafique explained that the Government of The Gambia, under the leadership of the Ministry of Public Service and UNICEF-Gambia office, has established a comprehensive oversight mechanism to ensure a strong coordination of the implementation, monitoring, reporting and evaluation of the Country Programme 2024 – 2028 and subsequent Country Programmes.
“As we hold this first meeting of the Steering Committee today, we embark on an important journey to support the implementation of the Country Programme and strengthen our collaboration and the leadership of the Government in this process,” UNICEF Country representative remarked.
By Lamin B. Darboe
