BANJUL, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- The UNICEF country representative in The Gambia, Gordon Jonathan Lewis, said Monday that the UN agency will support the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education of The Gambia to ensure a safe return of children to schools that are to reopen this Wednesday.
"Rest assured that as The Gambia prepares to safely reopen schools, UNICEF and the rest of the United Nations system in the country will provide strong support to ensure that students and staff are safe in school," Lewis said during a meeting with The Gambia's education minister Claudiana Cole in Banjul.
According to him, UNICEF has reprogrammed more than 4 million U.S. dollars of the agency's regular and emergency budgets to support the country's response to the pandemic and ensure continuity of services across a range of sectors.
"We have already redirected important resources to support The Gambia's COVID-19 response and this includes the safe reopening of schools," he added.
The Gambia was forced to close all learning centers in March when the West African nation recorded its first case of COVID-19.
So far, The Gambia has recorded 3,632 confirmed cases, including 117 deaths and 2,543 recoveries. Enditem
