By Oumie Mendy
Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) received a total of 18 Emergency Response Vehicles on Wednesday 28th September 2022 during a handing-over ceremony held at the KMC Offices. The donation of the vehicles was facilitated by the Ebou Mala Children Charity Foundation (EMCCF) with the vehicles being donated by the Emergency Services Aids Charity (ESAC) to tackle fire outbreaks and timely emergency response in health facilities.
Three different types of vehicles were donated including nine ambulances, six fire trucks and three security vehicles which will be distributed to local emergency response services within the KMC region.
Speaking at the occasion, KMC Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda reaffirmed his council’s commitment to transform the municipality through interventions across different sectors. “The council’s main objective is to improve services in support of the overall improvement of the livelihood of people within the municipality and beyond,” said Mayor Bensouda.
Speaking about the challenges they face Mayor Bensouda highlighted that the country faces the challenge of limited resources at its disposal to effectively respond to emergencies such as fire outbreaks, and medical ambulance services and emergency security services adequately.
Speaking on the number of incidents, Mayor Bensouda noted that “there have been 58 fire incidents in KMC from January to September 2022 with two fatalities due to population growth and poor physical planning among others”.
Mayor Bensouda adds that “firefighters continue to struggle to handle the situation. The deficit in ambulatory services in response to emergencies has led to the use of private vehicles to escort patients which in most cases is vital to ensuring better chances of survival“.
Turning his attention to the donations Mayor Bensouda says, “that the donation is a timely intervention to secure the community, and thanks the donors for their benevolence”.
The nine ambulances will be distributed across different public hospitals and community health centers in KMC. The health facilities earmarked to benefit from the ambulances include Kanifnag General Hospital and seven Health Centers located in Fajikunda, Serrekunda, Bakoteh, Ebotown, Jeswang, Tallinding and Latrikunda German.
Meanwhile, the Fire Ambulances will be donated to the Fire and Rescue Services and the Police are expected to benefit from three emergency response vehicles.
ESAC Project Manager Mr Aidan Goundry expressed his team’s delight to see the donated vehicles arrive safely in the Gambia. Speaking on their anticipation for the donated vehicles Mr Goundry says that they intend for the “vehicles to meet the emergency needs of the medical facilities, the timely intervention of firefighters during fire outbreaks and to preserve the good health of Gambians”.
The ESAC Project Manager highlighted that the vehicles are expected to “assist the KMC to maintain a safer place for its people and the Gambia at large”.
EMCCF President Mr Samba Bah pledged that the charity foundation would not hesitate to render help in combating disaster in the country. He added that more assistance is on the way to provide a better livelihood and safer communities for Gambians.
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