29 January 2008
The Gambia looks likely to meet Unicef's Millennium Development Goals (MDG) for 2015, according to a Unicef official.
Ms Min-Whee Kang has expressed her satisfaction at the country's involvement in meeting those targets, the Daily Observer reports.
Eight MDGs feature the Unicef list for 2015, aiming to eradicate poverty, improve education, health, gender equality and preserve the environment.
Ms Min-Whee Kang pointed out Gambia's achievements such as its Education Sector Strategic Plan which has considerably increased education opportunities for girls.
The Unicef representative also told the Daily Observer: "This government's extra efforts in the education sector have enabled the Gambia to move closer to the third MDG, gender equality in access to education."
Other sustainable achievements include the 2006 Food Act, the Children's Act and the Women's Bill.
Very recently, the country has also made considerable advances in the medical field, launching a new malaria drug to counteract the problem of mosquitoes' resistance to chloroquine.
At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting yesterday, Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua said: "For us in Africa, the achievement of the MDGs is our sacred duty."
