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The Vice President, Aja Dr. Isatou Nije Saidy has said that a committed focus on ensuring and expanding the frontiers and reach of quality education for girls; providing improved and enhance access to healthcare and turbo-charging the enactment and enforcement of necessary legislation that protects women’s and children’s right, are the key blocks that underpin the Gambia’s well-informed and strategic efforts at engendering economic and social development through gender equality.
In a statement she delivered to mark this year’s International Women’s Day, the country’s number two citizen and west Africa’s first female and longest serving second-in-command listed a plethora of initiatives and established government interventions in the direction of women empowerment and gender equality.
She announced that the nationally adapted theme for this year’s International Women’s Day celebration is Economic empowerment, equal access to productive resources and related institutional support services.
“This is in line with the national development sentinel that we have in place to develop the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which is a global target and which has been nationalized in the Gambia and indeed the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP 2) and in line with our vision 2020. In regard to the vision 2020, we reiterate some of the issues that have been highlighted particularly in the mission statement where the President wants the Gambia to have by year 2020, a well-educated, trained, skilled, healthy, self reliant and enterprising population”.
She additionally commended President Jammeh for having taken “a keen interest” and a series of “bold steps” in ensuring the achievement of gender equality, the Millennium development Goals (MDGs) and other measures that aid the empowerment of Gambian women. “He has been supporting girls’ education for example, ensuring improved access to health services by way of offering scholarships with regards to education to girls’ provision of equipment and related infrastructure and indeed an expansion of these facilities in both health and education, making maternal and infant healthcare services free in the Gambia,” she said of the president.
She continued: His Excellency’s love for children including the girl child of course is so great that all the proceeds of his farm annually are reinvested in the productive and social sectors of health, education, women and youth development and children.” Adding that in order to ensure a decent standard of living for all Gambians by 2020, it would be absolutely necessary to avail equal opportunities to all citizens; male and female. “It requires all hands on deck;” she said, pointing that all sectors of society have to be a part of that process. VP Njai-Saidy posited that dignity for all women is very critical to participate fully in national development and also benefit from the development process.
She explained that the nationally adapted theme is even more poignantly relevant considering the fact women constitute about 51 percent of the total population in the Gambia, and given the fact that women are a very active party in both the formal and informal sectors of the economy. Dr. Njai-Saidy lamented the fact that most women have only limited skills, knowledge as well as resources and also that despite their relevance to society and its development, women tend to be among the poorest of the poor and among the less privileged due to a raft of social, cultural and economic reasons.
She said women have limited access to finance, to developed and fertile land, to property and information among others and that they continue to work hard mainly in the informal sector to meet their families needs.
Less women are employed in the formal sector and sometimes due to their educational backgrounds which is a limiting factor and due to their family responsibilities. The few that are soring in decision making position both at the local and national levels in some cases also do lack adequate capacity, therefore the government of the Gambia will continue to place high priority, no doubt, on women economic empowerment in the national development strategy so as to reduce women’s burden and drudgery and vulnerability and of course in the process also ensure equal access to productive resources and the institutional support services as the theme for this year says and as well work on capacity building.”
She disclosed that the key strategy adopted by her government for poverty reduction among women, include but are not limited to, the development of favorable macro and micro economic policies, encouragement of industrialization and value added efforts in both agriculture and in the informal sectors of the economy; provision of micro credit, expansion of economic opportunities, career development, and other measure that may provide clear and powerful impetus to achieving and actualizing the government’s women empowerment goals.
She called on all sectors including the private sector and development partners in the Gambia and outside to complement the efforts of the government in this direction.
Dr. Isatou Njie Saidy then listed some of the achievements of the Gambia in the direction of women empowerment.
“The Gambia has proven to be effective and responsive towards ensuring relevant and quality education for all including girls”, she said, noting a number of interventions in this direction as including the Presidential Empowerment of Girls Education Projects PEGEP, The Girls Education Trust Fund, the Access Programme for Girls, the tertiary institution waiver as well as re-entry programme for girls and boys to reduce school dropouts.
“Gender parity, as you all know now has been achieved at the basic education level, that is the lower and upper basic levels and there are more female graduates at those levels than there boys. The focus is to achieve this success at the secondary and the tertiary education levels as well”.
She also said women participation in the economic activity in the Gambia is improving both at the formal and informal sectors. “Women are for example running medium businesses in the trade, export and small scale and import/export and indeed in agriculture, fisheries, in the services and tourism sector among others. Women continue to constitute the majority in subsistence agriculture and the majority in the mostly undocumented informal sector of the economy,” she said.
Turing to successes in health sector as it affects the issues of gender empowerment, the Vice President explained that health services are delivered at three levels;
the primary, secondary and tertiary. She said according to the health policy, priority is accorded to the family and women’s reproductive health among others and that physical access to health services continues to improve with the upgrading and building of new facilities countrywide and staffing them
with trained personnel.
The PRSP 2 Project report for 2008 indicates that over 85 percent and 97 percent of
the population respectively are within 3 kilometers and 5 kilometers of a basic
health facility and primary health care post respectively as well, just as in
education. Safe motherhood and the reduction of maternal and child mortality and
morbidity are ensured through the provision of free maternal healthcare and the
recruitment of competent, skilled and qualified birth attendants as well and an
efficient referral system and facility for obstetrics care in case of emergency for
pregnant women,” she noted.
In the areas of ensuring the presence of the adequate and proper legislation
appropriate to drive and ensure the promotion of women’s and girls’ rights, the VP
noted that a Women’s Bill, which has been drafted and discussed at various levels, is
at an advanced stage in its enactment process .
The enactment of the Trafficking in
persons Act 2007, The Children’s Act 2005 and the establishment of the Children’s
Courts are all clear manifestations no doubt of government’s commitment to the
Promotion of Girl’s and Women’s Rights.
“A National Plan of Action has also been developed as a follow up to the study on
the commercial and sexual exploitation of children in 2004 to address the issues
raised and increase our sensitization campaign as well regarding early marriage,
sexual exploitation and related issues. Capacity building, sensitization and
awareness creation workshops are conducted for teachers, law enforcement agents,
nurses, social workers, religious leaders as well as women and children themselves,”
she said.
The Vice President, Aja Dr. Isatou Nije Saidy has said that a committed focus on ensuring and expanding the frontiers and reach of quality education for girls; providing improved and enhance access to healthcare and turbo-charging the enactment and enforcement of necessary legislation that protects women’s and children’s right, are the key blocks that underpin the Gambia’s well-informed and strategic efforts at engendering economic and social development through gender equality.
In a statement she delivered to mark this year’s International Women’s Day, the country’s number two citizen and west Africa’s first female and longest serving second-in-command listed a plethora of initiatives and established government interventions in the direction of women empowerment and gender equality.
She announced that the nationally adapted theme for this year’s International Women’s Day celebration is Economic empowerment, equal access to productive resources and related institutional support services.
“This is in line with the national development sentinel that we have in place to develop the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which is a global target and which has been nationalized in the Gambia and indeed the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP 2) and in line with our vision 2020. In regard to the vision 2020, we reiterate some of the issues that have been highlighted particularly in the mission statement where the President wants the Gambia to have by year 2020, a well-educated, trained, skilled, healthy, self reliant and enterprising population”.
She additionally commended President Jammeh for having taken “a keen interest” and a series of “bold steps” in ensuring the achievement of gender equality, the Millennium development Goals (MDGs) and other measures that aid the empowerment of Gambian women. “He has been supporting girls’ education for example, ensuring improved access to health services by way of offering scholarships with regards to education to girls’ provision of equipment and related infrastructure and indeed an expansion of these facilities in both health and education, making maternal and infant healthcare services free in the Gambia,” she said of the president.
She continued: His Excellency’s love for children including the girl child of course is so great that all the proceeds of his farm annually are reinvested in the productive and social sectors of health, education, women and youth development and children.” Adding that in order to ensure a decent standard of living for all Gambians by 2020, it would be absolutely necessary to avail equal opportunities to all citizens; male and female. “It requires all hands on deck;” she said, pointing that all sectors of society have to be a part of that process. VP Njai-Saidy posited that dignity for all women is very critical to participate fully in national development and also benefit from the development process.
She explained that the nationally adapted theme is even more poignantly relevant considering the fact women constitute about 51 percent of the total population in the Gambia, and given the fact that women are a very active party in both the formal and informal sectors of the economy. Dr. Njai-Saidy lamented the fact that most women have only limited skills, knowledge as well as resources and also that despite their relevance to society and its development, women tend to be among the poorest of the poor and among the less privileged due to a raft of social, cultural and economic reasons.
She said women have limited access to finance, to developed and fertile land, to property and information among others and that they continue to work hard mainly in the informal sector to meet their families needs.
Less women are employed in the formal sector and sometimes due to their educational backgrounds which is a limiting factor and due to their family responsibilities. The few that are soring in decision making position both at the local and national levels in some cases also do lack adequate capacity, therefore the government of the Gambia will continue to place high priority, no doubt, on women economic empowerment in the national development strategy so as to reduce women’s burden and drudgery and vulnerability and of course in the process also ensure equal access to productive resources and the institutional support services as the theme for this year says and as well work on capacity building.”
She disclosed that the key strategy adopted by her government for poverty reduction among women, include but are not limited to, the development of favorable macro and micro economic policies, encouragement of industrialization and value added efforts in both agriculture and in the informal sectors of the economy; provision of micro credit, expansion of economic opportunities, career development, and other measure that may provide clear and powerful impetus to achieving and actualizing the government’s women empowerment goals.
She called on all sectors including the private sector and development partners in the Gambia and outside to complement the efforts of the government in this direction.
Dr. Isatou Njie Saidy then listed some of the achievements of the Gambia in the direction of women empowerment.
“The Gambia has proven to be effective and responsive towards ensuring relevant and quality education for all including girls”, she said, noting a number of interventions in this direction as including the Presidential Empowerment of Girls Education Projects PEGEP, The Girls Education Trust Fund, the Access Programme for Girls, the tertiary institution waiver as well as re-entry programme for girls and boys to reduce school dropouts.
“Gender parity, as you all know now has been achieved at the basic education level, that is the lower and upper basic levels and there are more female graduates at those levels than there boys. The focus is to achieve this success at the secondary and the tertiary education levels as well”.
She also said women participation in the economic activity in the Gambia is improving both at the formal and informal sectors. “Women are for example running medium businesses in the trade, export and small scale and import/export and indeed in agriculture, fisheries, in the services and tourism sector among others. Women continue to constitute the majority in subsistence agriculture and the majority in the mostly undocumented informal sector of the economy,” she said.
Turing to successes in health sector as it affects the issues of gender empowerment, the Vice President explained that health services are delivered at three levels;
the primary, secondary and tertiary. She said according to the health policy, priority is accorded to the family and women’s reproductive health among others and that physical access to health services continues to improve with the upgrading and building of new facilities countrywide and staffing them
with trained personnel.
The PRSP 2 Project report for 2008 indicates that over 85 percent and 97 percent of
the population respectively are within 3 kilometers and 5 kilometers of a basic
health facility and primary health care post respectively as well, just as in
education. Safe motherhood and the reduction of maternal and child mortality and
morbidity are ensured through the provision of free maternal healthcare and the
recruitment of competent, skilled and qualified birth attendants as well and an
efficient referral system and facility for obstetrics care in case of emergency for
pregnant women,” she noted.
In the areas of ensuring the presence of the adequate and proper legislation
appropriate to drive and ensure the promotion of women’s and girls’ rights, the VP
noted that a Women’s Bill, which has been drafted and discussed at various levels, is
at an advanced stage in its enactment process .
The enactment of the Trafficking in
persons Act 2007, The Children’s Act 2005 and the establishment of the Children’s
Courts are all clear manifestations no doubt of government’s commitment to the
Promotion of Girl’s and Women’s Rights.
“A National Plan of Action has also been developed as a follow up to the study on
the commercial and sexual exploitation of children in 2004 to address the issues
raised and increase our sensitization campaign as well regarding early marriage,
sexual exploitation and related issues. Capacity building, sensitization and
awareness creation workshops are conducted for teachers, law enforcement agents,
nurses, social workers, religious leaders as well as women and children themselves,”
she said.
