STATEMENT BY

  HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT ALHAJI DR YAHYA A.J.J. JAMMEH

ON THE CELEBRATION OF THE 1ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE HIV/AIDS BREAKTHROUGH

AT THE JULY 22ND SQUARE IN BANJUL

THURSDAY 17TH JANUARY 2008

Aouzubi Lahi Mina Shaitani Rajeem Bismi Lahi Rahmani Raheem

Alhamdu Lilahi Rabil Alameen, Alhamdu Lilahi Rabil Alameen, Alhamdu Lilahi Rabil Alameen

Honourable Speaker of the National Assembly

My Lord the Chief Justice

Honourable Secretaries of State

Members of the Diplomatic and Consular Core

Managing Directors

Senior Civil Servants

Cultural Groups

The Venerable Religious Leaders

The Students and their heads

Fellow Gambians and of course the people that were undergoing treatment for HIV/AIDS and other diseases

First of all, I want to thank the Almighty Allah, who created me and gave me all the knowledge that I use to cure humanity. Secondly, I want to thank my mother who suffered for nine months and beyond to nurture me and make me a human being. ----APPLAUSE----

Thirdly, I want to thank the Medical team that supported me all the way, from the beginning Dr Pachah Njie, the Cuban medical team and of course the Gambian Nurses and the First Group that volunteered to come forward and be an example to others, which encouraged the others to come and follow them. --- APPLAUSE---

I also want to thank all those who contributed in one way or the other towards the success of the treatment because it is a very expensive treatment.

I can only thank the Almighty Allah for this day. One thing we should look at; without the Almighty Allah you cannot do anything. The day we started the treatment last year, and one year today, it almost coincided with Youmal Ashura. That tells us a lot. I don't want to go into details but what I want to assure you is that my treatment was not meant to challenge anybody, or to fight anybody. My treatment purely is to fight disease and all diseases that are labeled as incurable. If the pharmaceutical companies that are making billions out of the HIV/AIDS pandemic think that am doing it to fight them. No!!!

Making my treatment free does not mean that am fighting anybody. If I also tell you that it is entirely free, is not true. I am being paid or am going to be paid; I want the Almighty Allah to pay me for what am doing, not human beings.
----APPLAUSE----

So for the others that think that my treatment is a threat to them, well they should believe in the Almighty Allah and the Almighty Allah value humanity more than all his creation. Therefore you must be of service to humanity.

We have treated so many diseases, but I will only tell you the latest and that is if you are paralysed there is a 99% likelihood that you will be able to walk again. ---APPLAUSE---

I know what am talking about because we treated one patient who was critically paralysed, they use to carry him, now he's working on his own and even doing exercise. ---APPLAUSE---

With regards to Infertility treatment, I told you the reasons why it sometimes fails in some women. Sometimes it could be the wife, sometime it could be the husband. But one thing I am certain, if it is the wife and you have not gone beyond the age of bearing children, 'inshallah' if you take my medicine, you will have a baby. And less than two month since the beginning of that treatment we have reports of about eight that have conceived so far.

I will not also complete my statement without expressing my disappointment with the people that benefited from my treatment free of charge. We treat you, we cloth you free of charge and when you are well we discharge you. The little you can do for me is to present yourself today so that people would know you are grateful. More that 25 former patients that have been discharged are absent today. We treated more than three thousand Asthma patients, I think none of them is here today. Ok one lady has raised her hand. And I cannot even remember how many people received treatment for High Blood Pressure at a time when I was very busy on my farm and I think very few less than ten are here. Fellow Gambians, is that an encouragement for me to waste my time treating people and when they suppose to show up they don't show up? Is that fair? But let us remember one thing, the world is three days – Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. Tomorrow you may have another ailment and you come to me for treatment; you will pay for the treatment 'Billahi Wallahi Tallahi'. If you are not faithful to humanity you can never be faithful to God.

I want to congratulate those who have been discharged. I made it very clear what my treatment is about with regards to HIV/AIDS. My medication eliminates the virus itself so that you will not be sick again. And we discharge you only when the machine that said that you are HIV positive now declares that you don't have the virus in your body.

So on this note I want to caution those who have been discharged. My medication is not a vaccine that immunises you against the disease. So it is no guarantee that you will not be re-infected if you are careless and the mere fact that the treatment is available does not mean that people should be careless about the disease. Because of limited facilities and resources we can only treat as at now one hundred and sixty-five at any given time. So you have to be very careful and keep faith.

President Jammeh Suggests a Better Way of Celebrating The Breakthrough

According to the programme for the celebration there was suppose to be some musical and cultural programmes but we will celebrate it in a better way tomorrow and on Saturday, here at this square. We are going to do it by calling the religious schools that are here for the recitation of the holy Qur'an tomorrow (Friday) up to Saturday morning and Saturday in the evening. We will continue to Sunday morning to thank the Almighty Allah for what he has done for us and also to pray for the Almighty Allah to forgive all those who are gone as a result of the accident (referring to the recent truck accident in Serekundanding that claimed the lives of ten people), to forgive them and allow them in His Paradise. This task is hereby given to Imam Ratib, State House Mosque Committee and the Supreme Islamic Council. Those who are coming don't worry; you will have enough food and drink as long as you recite the holy Qur'an correctly.

President Advises Patients on Religious Worship

And those who have been discharged, you remember throughout your treatment, you never missed the five daily prayers during the treatment. Don't abandon them when you go home. May the Almighty Allah guide and protect you and you protect yourselves.

More Discoveries

Now, I promised the Gambians that by December I was going to announce whether I can cure Cancer or not. Now one thing that is certain is that one of the medications we give to people also takes care of Skin Cancer. The rest of the Cancers we have not tried yet but one thing I can say with certainty is that if you have Skin Cancer, come to my clinic. One dose you are ok. ---APPLAUSE---

Thank you very much. ---APPLAUSE---

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