Health

The Gambian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has banned smoking in all public places in accordance with a nation-wide regional consultation on the Prohibition of Smoking Act of 1998. A statement from the ministry urged all heads of institutions, organisations, and ... [Gambia News]

The executive director of the Banjul-based women’s rights group, the Gambia Committee for the Prevention of Harmful Traditional Practices (GAMCOTRAP), on Monday disclosed that her organization was sensitizing the National Assembly members on the ills of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) so that it would ... [Gambia News]

The Government of the Republic of The Gambia has decided to create a National Programme based on the "Initiation without Mutilation" project (Iniciació sense mutilació), directed by UAB researcher Adriana Kaplan, financed by Fundació "la Caixa", and managed by the Institute of Primary Care ... [Gambia News]

The Gambian government loses up to half of its trainee health workers every year to the private sector or to jobs abroad, causing dangerous shortfalls in patient care in some government hospitals, health workers say. Half of ... [Gambia News]

A vaccine against malaria, which kills more than one million people every year, could be available within five years after extensive trials have shown that it provides significant protection for infants and young children. ... [Gambia News]

Gambia’s health officials have started a weeklong campaign of ‘National Blood Donor Day Programme’, calling on the general public to don a te blood, health sources here informed PANA Thursday. The campaign, driven by the country’s main “Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital (RVTH), ... [Gambia News]

The Secretary of State for Health, Dr. Malick Njie, has said that the MDG, or Millennium Development Goal on child mortality reduction will not be attained unless systematic policy and pragmatic attention is given to improving newborn health. He made this remark on Wednesday ... [Gambia News]

Providing pregnant women and children with insecticide-treated bed nets has sharply cut malaria deaths in the West African nation of Gambia, according to a study published on Friday. The findings suggest health officials in other parts of Africa could eliminate ... [Gambia News]

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in part nership with a developmental organisation, 'Nova Scotia-Gambia Association' (NSG A ), has started a nationwide "HIV/AIDS awareness and knowledge baseline survey" t a rgeting an identified "vulnerable groups" in the Gambia, NSGA's liaison, Lamin F a ... [Gambia News]

A five-day free cataract surgery sponsored by the Rotary Club of Banjul begins on Wednesday at the Sheikh Zayed Regional Eye Care Centre (SZRECC) in Kanifing. The free sponsored cataract campaign will be offered to 100 patients mainly from North ... [Gambia News]

The Vice President Aja Isatou Njie-Saidy on Wednesday February 20th launched the “Campaign to Eradicate Malaria in The Gambia’ at the July 22nd Square in Banjul. She told the audience who gathered around the square for the ceremony is “a ... [Gambia News]

The National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), in collaboration with the Department of State for Health and Social Welfare, on Wednesday, January 23rd launched a new Malaria treatment drug called Atenisinin Combination Therapy (ACT). The launching Ceremony was held at ... [Gambia News]

As the National Measles Immunization Campaign kicks off nation-wide, this reporter is with the Unicef team in the Central River Region to take part in the weeklong measles campaign. The team which is headed by Mr. Jawara Saidykah of Unicef visited various teams in different ... [Gambia News]

WELSH health experts have started work to address the brain-drain of African specialists leaving to work abroad. The demand for trained medics in western health services, such as the UK and US, has seen a number of Gambian specialists ... [Gambia News]

A GENEROUS team of volunteers is donating two ambulances to the Gambia Health Service. Members of Wessex Ambulance Service, based in Factory Lane, near Highbridge, decided to give two vehicles to Gambia and Avon Fire Service in Partnership (GAFSIP). Wessex Ambulance ... [Gambia News]

The Gambia’s health officials have disclosed the availability of the new anti-malaria drug [coartem] in the country. Coartem is combination of artemether and lumegentrin and has 100% efficacy of eliminating malaria parasite from the victim’s system. The introduction of coartem ... [Gambia News]

A vaccine for malaria looks tantalisingly close: researchers have isolated antibodies from the blood of people who have a natural immunity to the disease. When injected, the antibodies protected against malaria infection in a mouse study, researchers say. The original antibodies ... [Gambia News]

Banjul (The Gambia) The Gambian Veterinary Services have reported an outbreak of the highly contagious African swine fever sometimes called pig plague based on the German word Schweinepest) is a highly contagious disease of pigs and wild boar in the ... [Gambia News]

A 307,200 pound sterling malaria centre that was constructed with fund provided by the Bill and Milinda Gates Foundation, has been inaugurated in The Gambia and will house the National Malaria control Programme and the Public Health Research and Development ... [Gambia News]

"At The World Health Assembly in May 2003, the member states of the World Health Organisation (WHO) agreed on a ground breaking public health treaty to control tobacco supply and consumption." Says WHO Communications Officer, Mr. Gassama. He noted that the ... [Gambia News]

A 12-year-old refugee having heart ailment has been diagnosed at the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital (RVTH), Lamtoro and in Dakar and has proved to be suffering from an enlarged heart with two weak valves. According to a medical report from the ... [Gambia News]

At a colourful ceremony on 5 May 2007, GAMCOTRAP, with local and international partners, celebrated the dropping of knives by eighteen circumcisers across the length and breadth of The Gambia. GAMCOTRAP, a Women's Rights NGO, promotes women's social, political, economic and ... [Gambia News]

Standard Chartered Bank has responded to RVTH’s appeal for blood donation by organising a two-day event that will see the hospital’s depleted supply of blood for patients rejuvenated. The blood donation exercise will be carried out at the Bank’s ... [Gambia News]

MRC is marking sixty years in The Gambia with a series of events to commemorate its long standing relationship with the Government and people of The Gambia. The MRC Chief Executive, Professor Colin Blakemore will be visiting the Gambia from ... [Gambia News]

On Nov 10, 2006 We published an article about a young man, Dawda Jarju Who needed urgent medical treatment abroad and asked for anyone who could assist him to contact his family. Dawda was suffering from a severe cardinal heart disease, which ... [Gambia News]

Operafrica, a Hampshire/UK based group of volunteers, who work in the remote villages in The Gambia, in collaoration with Sight Savers International (SSI), and the National Eye Care Programme Unit (NECP), recently funded a four-day sight-screening programme for 40 people ... [Gambia News]

Isatou Ndong, a five-year-old girl living in Manjai, is in need of urgent overseas medical treatment. According to a medical report (Ref/Vol/61/11. No. 675541) from the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital dated 7 November 2006, Isatou should undergo a special ... [Gambia News]

RSS Partner : The Point The Department of State for Health and Social Welfare over the weekend embarked on a joint operation with personnel of National Drug Enforcement Agency and National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to crack down on illegal pharmacies within the Greater ... [Gambia News]

ASB Clinic Workers' Samaritan Organisation, a German humanitarian charatable organisation operating in many countries in the world, recently donated D3.2million worth of drugs to the Department of state for Health and Social Welfare. The drugs which includes ... [Gambia News]

Dawda Jarju, a 17 -year-old heart patient is in dire need of assistance to undergo medical treatment abroad. According to medical reports from Lamtoro Clinic, Medical Research Council (MRC) and Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital (RVTH), Dawda is suffering from ... [Gambia News]

First Lady Madam Zineb Jammeh, yesterday received members of the executive committee of the Society of Women Against Aids (SUWA) The Gambia Chapter at State House in Banjul. Speaking to journalists, shortly after the courtesy call, Saihou Ceesay, Director ... [Gambia News]