The team of doctors was in The Gambia to carry out treatment, train Gambian colleagues and also learn from them as they are experts in their field.
The delegation was welcomed at the Foreign Ministry by His Excellency Ambassador Lang Yabou, the Permanent Secretary and Head of the Diplomatic Service. He commended Ambassador Bah for the laudable initiative in engaging and persuading US medical doctors to travel to The Gambia alongside medical doctors in rendering medical services to the Gambian people. He expressed his heartfelt gratitude and pride over the medical mission which was made possible by the Sunu Reew organisation in collaboration with the Embassy of The Gambia in Washington D.C.
Ambassador Yabou expressed great optimism that the relationship between The Gambia and the United States has gained momentum in the recent past culminating in the visit of the doctors to The Gambia. On the basis of this, Ambassador Yabou engaged the visiting doctors constructively on the need to invest in The Gambia’s medical sector to complement existing efforts of the Government of The Gambia in providing quality health services to the Gambian people.
For his part, the Ambassador of The Gambia to the United States of America, H.E. Momodou Lamin Bah, commended the doctors for taking time out of their busy schedules to provide medical services to the people of The Gambia and expressed his resolve to continue working with the doctors in providing services and enhancing standards at public hospitals in the country.
The Gambian Ambassador further indicated that contributions towards improving the health sector would continue in different forms, such as short-term visits, capacity building through virtual mode, exchange programmes between the health practitioners and training institutions in The Gambia and in the US.
The doctors expressed gratitude to render services to the people of The Gambia. They thanked Ambassador Yabou for the audience and also extended appreciation to Ambassador Bah for traveling to Banjul to join them despite his busy schedule. The ceremony was attended by the Director of American Directorate, Mr Bernard Mendy.
The doctors that attended the meeting at the Foreign Ministry were: Dr Sarah Washington (pediatrics), Dr Carol Penn (family medicine/obesity medicine), Dr Kelechi Uduhiri (family medicine), Dr Alexea Adams-Gaffney, Victoria Adjekpiyede Sunu Reew Medical Mission, Dr Neema Tillery Moore (chiropractic), Dr Adayna Upchurch-Burrows (pediatrics).
It could be recalled that in June 2023, Ambassador Bah and 15 US doctors discussed the possibilities of strengthening medical assistance to The Gambia under the umbrella of Gambia Collaborative Project (GCP).
That meeting was part of preparations for the team of doctors to travel to The Gambia and render medical assistance to the people in public health facilities, notably the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital (main referral hospital) in Banjul.
The team of doctors arrived in the country on 26 January 2024 and has since started providing medical services to the people of The Gambia, which is expected to last for two weeks.
Source: Embassy of The Gambia in Washington D.C.
