Banjul, 15th April 2025: The Permanent Secretary (PS) at the Ministry of Public Service last week inaugurated the steering committee to facilitate UNICE-Gambia Government Programme for Children 2024-2028 implementation, at an event held at State House in Banjul.
PS Pateh Jah, in his inauguration statement on behalf of Mr. Alieu Loum, Deputy Chief of Staff and Head of Department of Strategic Policy and Delivery (DSPD), acknowledged that the development of the Country Programme (CP) was participatory, in which government institutions and key stakeholders, including Civil Society Organisations, academia, children and adolescents played pivotal role.
As part of the development, PS Jah added, the CP has been aligned with the new National Development Plan (NDP). In addition to its alignment with the Recovery Focused National Development Plan (YIRIWAA), the CP is informed by the Common Country Analysis 2021, and situation analysis of children and adolescents in The Gambia 2021, which identified critical barriers to advancing child rights,” he explained.
The PS went on: “The Government of The Gambia and UNICEF are steadfast in their commitment to delivering tangible results, with a shared vision of fostering a Gambia where every child can fulfill their potential and contribute meaningfully to national development”.
He outlined the five goals which CP is anchored as: Every child survives and thrives, every child learns and develops, every child is protected from violence, exploitation and harmful practices, and has a legal identity and every child lives free from poverty.
Mr Jah applauded the long-standing partnership between UNICEF and the Government of The Gambia, noting that in February 27, 1995, the two parties signed a basic cooperation agreement operationalised through successive Country Programmes aligned with national development priorities.
According to PS Jah, UNICEF Gambia Office supports the Government to accelerate progress in the realisation of child rights in The Gambia, including adolescents, through the implementation of sustainable and equitable strategies based on the guiding principles of gender equality and non-discrimination, ‘leave no one behind’ and humanitarian action.
He informed that the Government of The Gambia and UNICEF Country Programme (2024 – 2028) prioritise support to the National Development Plan (2023 – 2027) pillars which centered on building community resilience to address shocks and crisis, governance reform, human capital development and empowerment, and social inclusion.
He said the support aims to ensure that “every child is delivered in a safe environment, receives nutritious food and life-saving vaccinations they need to grow and develop, has access to basic water, sanitation and hygiene services that keep them healthy, receives quality education from early stages to adulthood that fosters their skills, is supported by a protection system that ensures even the most vulnerable can flourish, and has equitable opportunities to engage with and influence decisions that impact their lives”.
On the Steering Committee, the PS said it provides strategic decisions and orientations for the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Country Programmes, ensuring full alignment with the NDP to achieve impactful results for the population of The Gambia; especially vulnerable children and adolescents.
He therefore informed that the SC is supported by a Technical Committee which provides technical oversight expertise to the implementation of the Country Programme and by the Coordination Task Force as the secretariat, thus the committee will be co-chaired by the Government - Deputy Chief of Staff & Head of DSPD and UNICEF Gambia Representative.
He seized the opportunity to commend the implementing partners for their representatives and steadfastness and encouraged them to maintain their partnering with UNICEF and the Government as they work towards realising the objectives outlined in their Programme for Children 2024-2028.
By Lamin B. Darboe
