As the COVID-19 pandemic engulfs much of the world, health authorities in Gambia are working to prevent its transmission across the country.Health experts are distributing hygiene supplies to marginalized women and girls in the area to aid infection control.
Some 300 dignity kits were recently distributed to women and girls identified by UNFPA’s partner, the Gambia Red Cross Society.
Each kit contained a large plastic bucket, a soft baby blanket, bathing soap, laundry soap, a towel, a wrapper, a pair of slippers, drinking cup, a sponge, deodorant, underwear and a pack of sanitary pads.
In Basse, only about 56 per cent of households are using improved sanitation. The dignity kits were distributed to some of those most left behind, including women and girls living in poverty and with disabilities.
“As a person living with disability, I always encounter challenges in trying to access dignity products for my personal hygiene,” said Fatoumata Fatty, upon receiving one of the dignity kits. “I am not able to afford some of the material provided to me in this kit.”
Mariama, an adolescent girl in Basse Kabakama, also received a kit. She noted that personal hygiene products are particularly challenging to access due to pandemic-related movement restrictions, and because access to supportive programmes, such as through schools and charity-based initiatives, has been limited.
So far, 25 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the country. UNFPA is also working with the health system to ensure access to sexual and reproductive health services and the continuation of programmes preventing and responding to gender-based violence.
