This statement is to inform the general public that the Medical and Dental Council of The Gambia (MDCG), the statutory Government Agency that regulates the standards of training and practice of medicine and dentistry in The Gambia, established under the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act 1988, has not accredited the medical training programme of AIUWA.
There is indeed general acceptance that external process of evaluation for educational programmes and the quality of graduates of medical schools is required to ensure that the educational standards of any medical school do not fall below acceptable standards, hence the need for accreditation of the related Institutions and Training Programmes.
Accreditation is generally defined as a status which shows the public that a school has met and is maintaining a high level of standards set by an accrediting authority. Further, programme accreditation for professions such as medicine, dentistry, nursing etc is administered by relevant professionally oriented accrediting authorities to ascertain the programmes’ educational quality.
The MDCG is responsible for a) regulating the profession and practice of medicine and dentistry in The Gambia, b) determining the primary qualification and experience requisite for the registration of medical and dental practitioners in The Gambia, and) protecting the general public.
It is in this context that the general public is hereby and duly notified that since the recent “medical graduates” by AIUWA had been cycled through a medical training programme not accredited by Council, these "medical graduates"are not eligible for provisional registration which all newly qualified doctors/dentists must have to start to work in any health institution for a statutory two year probation period before they can be fully registered as medical or dental practitioners.
It is further to be noted that Council does not approve a qualification granted by an Institution in The Gambia unless it bears one of the following designations:
- Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB BS) or Medicinae Baccalaureus, Chirungiae Baccalaureus (MB, ChB).
- Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS).
