Fangbondi News, Kairaba Avenue, Serekunda (2024)

12/08/2020

“I feel so honoured and excited to win this year’s Youth Excellence Award," Ousainu Gambia

“I feel so honoured and excited to win this year’s Youth Excellence Award.

09/07/2020

Yellowman unhappy with Bennie Man, find out why.

“I wish somebody else did do Zungguzungguguzungguzeng, maybe Shaggy or Sean Pa

03/07/2020

Motivated by the united response to fight Corona Virus in Gambia

motivated by the united response to fight Corona Virus in The Gambia.

13/06/2020

The Editorial Team and Staff of Fangbondi wish our reporter - Mustapha Paragon Sonko - a happy marriage ❤️.
Congratulations comrade.

26/05/2020

70 days on after Gambia registered its first COVID-19 case, Public Health Specialist, Sheikh Omar SG Sillah writes to President Adama Barrow

70 days on after Gambia registered its first COVID-19 case, Public Health Specialist, Sheikh Omar Sillah writes to President Adama Barrow

23/05/2020

On the Saturday - Sunday Eid al-Fitr day fuss, Prof. Saikou Suwareh Jabai writes to Karim Y. Darboe

21/05/2020

Breaking News!!!
General Saul Badjie breaks the silence, he apologies to Gambians and dispels allegations

19/05/2020

Taka's untold experience, by Jasong Sanyang. Happy Reading 😊

Inside the rare story of Taka, a great man of this generation.

06/05/2020

Saikou Suwareh Jabai writes to Ousainu Gambia,

Letter from your friend, Prof. Jabai

31/03/2020

Join the voting and make your voice count. We are asking on our website who is the most popular politician in The Gambia? You can vote via our website on www.fangbondi.com.

31/03/2020

"I don’t have money and there is no source of income for me as I live from hand-to-mouth with very little savings ............."

27/03/2020

His Excellency, Adama Barrow,
President of the Republic of The Gambia
Second Address to the Nation on COVID-19

Date: 27th March 2020

Fellow Gambians,
Distinguished Viewers,

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to be of grave concern globally and nationally, my government continues to remain vigilant and steadfast in reviewing and intensifying measures to prevent, contain and manage its spread within our borders.

In less than two weeks after my last address to the nation, the situation in the country has changed. As confirmed by the Ministry of Health, so far, more than thirty tests have been conducted. Three have been positive, and one is still inconclusive. Only one person among the confirmed cases in the country passed away.

With regards to the unfortunate incident of the people who absconded, almost half of them have been traced. The public is advised to report any person who has escaped quarantine, and to be aware that hiding suspects who pose a threat to public health is contrary to the laws of the land.

Fellow Gambians,

We know with certainty that mass movement of people and public gatherings are threats to the containment of COVID-19. Therefore, in addition to the measures mentioned in my last address, decision has been taken to impose new restrictions.

To curtail our exposure to infection through close interactions, my government has taken the decision to scale down government operations. Accordingly, all Heads of government institutions, parastatals, private enterprises and other institutions have been instructed to scale down their activities, with minimal staff to perform basic services. Where feasible, staff can work from home.

At the private sector level, all non-essential services are declared suspended with immediate effect. Only essential services, such as emergency medical services, sale of essential items and commodities, will continue.

I have been informed that there are enough supplies of essential commodities for the immediate and medium-term needs of the country. In this light, strict measures have been devised to curb attempts to hoard or hike the prices of basic commodities.
I implore the business community to continue to cooperate in stabilising the prices of all basic commodities.

Gambians and all residents in The Gambia must understand that business is not as usual, hence the need to take strict measures to protect ourselves.

Fellow Gambians,
Distinguished Audience,

On 18th March 2020, I signed the first Proclamation in relation to the pandemic, which was published in the gazette under Section 34(1) (b) of the 1997 Constitution. In it, I declared that a situation exists, which may lead to a state of public emergency if it persists.

I have now signed a second Proclamation declaring a state of public emergency throughout The Gambia.
Under this Proclamation, the following measures shall be enforced with effect from today, 27th March 2020: -

1. All non-essential food outlets in all markets and enclosed shopping areas shall be closed.

2. All non-essential public places, such as bars, cafeterias, cinemas, video clubs, gymnasiums, museums, night clubs, public swimming pools, events halls, casinos, gaming parlours and sporting venues shall be closed.

3. All public places of worship shall be closed.

4. The number of people attending any social gathering, such as weddings, naming ceremonies and funerals shall be restricted to a maximum of ten people.

5. All public transport shall carry half of the total number of passengers they are allowed to transport by law.

Invoking the powers invested in me as President under the Emergency Powers Act of the Laws of The Gambia, this is one of a series of Regulations I have signed, starting with the freezing of prices of all essential commodities to prevent any form of hoarding.

Already, an Essential Commodities Committee has been set up to monitor and enforce these Regulations. In this regard, I appeal to the goodwill of the business community to respect these measures for the general welfare of our people.

Notwithstanding the restrictions, the general public is reassured that essential services will continue. These include services provided by banks, petrol stations, traders and vendors in food and basic commodities in the markets, supermarkets and corner-shops.
However, this must be done in accordance with the WHO recommended social distancing guidelines.

Fellow Gambians,

My government has approved a Five Hundred Million Dalasi (D500 Million) emergency fund, which the Ministries of Health and Finance will work on for disbursement and use to fight the COVID-19 menace.

I seize this occasion to specifically thank the private sector, as well as all philanthropists and individuals for their financial support.
Your contributions will go a long way in complementing Government’s efforts in this joint fight. I thank you all.

On behalf of everyone, I also commend the national response teams, committees and frontline workers for their invaluable service to the nation. While my government continues to take leadership to guide the entire process, I extend deep appreciation to the wider community, including religious leaders, civil society, all Gambian citizens and people living in the country, for their cooperation.

In a similar vein, I call on all political party leaders and civil society organisations to work with Government in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. All efforts and cooperation during these trying moments are appreciated very much indeed.

Once again, I urge all of us to take the pandemic as a serious threat which requires all our collaborative and cooperative efforts to overcome. Let us cooperate fully with the health and security authorities so that measures adopted to stop the spread of the coronavirus can be effective.

This implies maintaining high personal hygiene standards that include regular hand washing, avoiding hand shaking, observing social distancing and all other regulations and measures necessary to fight COVID-19.

Long live The Gambia!
Thank you for your attention.

27/03/2020

“A Vaccine Is Still At Least 12 to 18 Months Away,” says WHO Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

Dr. Ghebreyesus made this disclosure in his Covid-19 update speech dated March 27, 2020.

Below is a highlight of his speech:

There are now more than half a million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 20,000 deaths.

More than 100,000 people have recovered.

The chronic global shortage of personal protective equipment is now one of the most urgent threats to our collective ability to save lives.

WHO has shipped almost 2 million individual items of protective gear to 74 countries that need it most, and we’re preparing to send a similar amount to a further 60 countries.

When health workers are at risk, we’re all at risk. Health workers in low- and middle-income countries deserve the same protection as those in the wealthiest countries.

To support our call on all countries to conduct aggressive case-finding and testing, we’re also working urgently to massively increase the production and capacity for testing around the world.

One of the most important areas of international cooperation is research and development.

A vaccine is still at least 12 to 18 months away.

WHO is continuing to support all countries in the response.
We’ve published more than 40 guidance documents on our website, providing detailed, evidence-based recommendations for governments, hospitals, health workers, members of the public and more.

More than 1 million health workers have been trained through our courses on OpenWHO.org. We will continue to train more.
We’re also delighted to report that the COVID-19 Solidarity Fund has now received donations of more than US$ 108 million in just two weeks, from 203,000 individuals and organizations.

Thank you to each and every one of you.

Source: WHO

Photo: WHO DG

27/03/2020

Statement by the Regional Director Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari on COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

27 March 2020, Cairo, Egypt – 21 out of 22 countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region are now reporting cases of COVID-19, including new reports of 5 confirmed cases in Syria and one confirmed case Libya.

The past weeks have seen some of the most developed health systems in the world struggle with their response to COVID-19. The emergence of the virus in much more vulnerable countries with fragile health systems in the Region, including Syria and Libya, is of special concern.

Of equal concern are global shortages in laboratory testing kits and protective equipment for health workers, as well travel restrictions and border closures. All of these are impeding WHO’s ability to provide urgently needed technical expertise and supplies to these and other countries.

In Syria, more than 9 years of war have heavily impacted the capacity of the health sector, with only 50% of public hospitals and 47% of public primary health care centres fully functional by the end of 2019. Additionally, thousands of qualified health professionals have fled the country.

A country like Syria, ravaged by conflict and displacement, and with a health system already pushed to its limits, will clearly be overburdened by an outbreak of COVID-19, and the impact could be catastrophic. In the northwest -- by far the least prepared area in Syria to face a pandemic -- millions of vulnerable, internally displaced people living in overcrowded camps are highly susceptible to infectious diseases, relying on a crippled health system. It is now a question of time when we’ll see the first cases of COVID19 in northwest Syria.

Within the Whole-of-Syria approach, we are working from both inside the country and cross-border from Gaziantep in Turkey to accelerate preparedness and response for the first COVID-19 cases. We are working with partners to prepare the health system, the community and the leaders to respond quickly when the disease arrives. We are prioritizing prevention, preparedness and risk communication, with a focus on supporting health responders to detect, diagnose and prevent spread, surveillance of entry-points, provision of protective equipment and training of health workers. Across the country, efforts are being accelerated to prepare laboratories and isolation wards and inform the public. Health facilities and selected intensive care units are being prepared and communities most at risk have been identified and are already being informed on prevention and protection measures.

Testing for suspected COVID-19 cases in northwest Syria started two days ago after a shipment of 300 tests reached a WHO partner. The results of the first eight suspected cases have all turned out negative. Some 600 additional tests will reach the laboratory in Idleb today, and a shipment of 5000 tests is scheduled to arrive in Idleb next week. Personal protective equipment has already been distributed to 21 health care facilities, and this week, we are shipping additional personal protective equipment to health workers in Idleb and Aleppo.

Due to the overcrowded living conditions and inadequate space for self-isolation in Idleb camps and host communities, community and camp-based isolation is to be introduced to restrict movement of suspected cases. WHO and its partners are currently training 540 health workers from 180 health facilities in the northwest, on staff and patient safety and infection prevention and control.

In Libya, growing levels of insecurity, political fragmentation, and a weak health system limit the country’s ability to implement effective preparedness and response measures for COVID-19. Outbreak response capacities are extremely limited in east Libya, and almost non-existent in south Libya. Large and frequent population movements between Libya and other affected countries increases the risk for a population of vulnerable people.

Vulnerable populations across the country, such as IDPs, migrants and refugees are more susceptible to disease due to limited access to health care, information about the disease, and deteriorated living conditions. The situation in formal and informal detention centres and prisons is of special concern.

Together with the National Centre for Disease control and Ministry of Health, WHO and health sector partners have prioritized six technical areas for urgent support to enable the country to better detect and respond to COVID-19. These include enhancing national disease surveillance; strengthening rapid response teams across the country; supporting screening and testing at points of entry; improving laboratory capacity; increasing health information and communication; and supporting the establishment of isolation wards/departments in selected hospitals and quarantine areas at points of entry.

As the virus continues to spread across the region, reaching the most vulnerable and in-need becomes a critical priority. Access to basic health services, especially for refugees, displaced populations and migrants, is of paramount importance to rights-based health systems and global health security.

Source: WHO

23/03/2020

Certainly, Fangbondi is the country’s home of groundbreaking stories. While we leave breaking news for other media houses, Fangbondi goes beyond the news by extraordinarily telling the actual stories and why they matter. Make Fangbondi your home by subscribing to our website mailing news delivery system.

Philopoet Mothawriter, Kalipha Jabbi, Baka Dem, ML Drammeh, Sarjo S. Jammeh, Katibi KD Yaffa

New Gambia and new media is not a coincidence but a reality.

23/03/2020

Combating Covid, top Gambians musicians join the crusade.
St Singhateh, Jerreh Jallow, Yuva Abdoulie Fula, Da Saint'z Fadera, Badara Pullo

The Office of the First Lady and UNICEF The Gambia have partnered with star artists Jizzle and ST - Press Release

23/03/2020

Scores of Gambians are optimistic that the senior squad will qualify for the first time, after decades of struggle.

23/03/2020

The Gambia has become the latest country to ban all public gatherings in the sub region.

23/03/2020

“It would be one of my biggest achievements and I would consider it a major legacy if this Bakoteh problem is fix

23/03/2020

MAJaC has enrolled 43 out of over 200 applicants at the foundation and certificate levels.

23/03/2020

The Commission’s decision came after the Gambia’s President made the Covid-19 announcement.

23/03/2020

SG Lowe urged the current leaders of the students union not to endorse candidates despite they are not barred by law to do so.

23/03/2020

Former SG Sonko said it is morally and constitutionally correct for current president to campaign for a candidate.

23/03/2020

Touray says the out-going president\'s action was uncalled for, despite there is no clause in the UTG-SU Constitution that deters him from endorsing candidates.

23/03/2020

The young movie group is working forth the growth of Gambia\'s budding movie industry.

23/03/2020

The Gambia is yet to confirm a novel Coronavirus case, but hundreds of people are currently under surveillance and eight suspects were tested negative few days ago.