Vice President Dr Isatou Touray has said that the Barrow administration is committed to addressing the plights of Gambians especially the poor and vulnerable.

Dr Touray was speaking at the opening of a two-day forum organised by the National Social Protection Secretariat in partnership with her office to identify common challenges in the implementation of social protection policies.

“My presence together with several cabinet ministers for the second day of the forum is a clear manifestation of our government’s commitment to the plight of the poor and vulnerable,” she told attendees at the Sir Dawda Jawara Conference Centre in Bijilo.

“Recognising the vital role social protection can play in fostering development across the sectors, the government created the National Social Protection secretariat and dedicated outcome 7.8 of the National Development Plan to social protection. 

“[The] government leveraged on the inherent complementariness that exist between the various flagship programmes and strategic social protection interventions,” she added.

United Nations Development Programme country representative Seraphine Wakana commended the government for its respond to climate related shocks and the promotion of food and nutrition.

“You have demonstrated your readiness to respond to shocks and these shocks reminds us that all the social protection must be designed to address the underlining historical and new drivers of poverty including urban poverty and other forms of vulnerability,” she said.

According to her, the UN is working on supporting “the social protection policy, promoting legislations development, setting up social registry, infrastructure and training of key governments and civil society organisation partners.”

Reporting by Adama Makasuba