Can I join you all in wishing MRC a very happy 60th birthday?
I am delighted to be here with you all today to witness the official opening of the MRC’s new Clinical Services wing. I am delighted for a number of reasons:

Firstly the occasion gives me the opportunity to applaud the vision of the MRC in opening the Gambia Unit in 1947.

Secondly, I wanted to take some time to outline the background and context of The Unit, from Her Majesty’s Government perspective.

The MRC Gambia Unit is the UK’s single largest investment in tropical medical research in a developing country.
It is a public organisation and a part of the UK Government’s health portfolio. As such it exists not for financial profit but for social profit.
Its vision is to improve health in developing countries by contributing to a better understanding of priority diseases and by developing and testing effective interventions against those diseases.
Core funding, from the UK government, currently running at £10m per year, has provided the long term stability needed to support the necessary infrastructure and the ability to retain excellent scientists from all over the world.
Some 30 different nationalities work at the MRC Gambia Unit, including over 750 Gambians.
As part of its mission statement, the MRC is committed to capacity building, particularly in the field of talented researchers from the west-African sub-region.
Over the past year, the MRC Gambia Unit has contributed over 350 million Dalasi to the Gambian economy through local salaries and through local purchases of goods and services within the country.
It invested a further 15 million Dalasi on staff training across the board, at all levels and in a variety of disciplines.

And The Unit works closely with a number of partners in the country:

It provides technical, logistical, resource and staff support to several departments of the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital, particularly the Paediatrics department.
It has long been a strong supporter of the University of The Gambia. MRC staff undertake lectures and tutorials. They also welcome student attachments from the University’s Medical School and the science departments.

In terms of achievements, I highlight two. The MRC Gambia Unit demonstrated

In 1986 that bednets treated with safe biodegradeable insecticides protect people by reducing their exposure to malaria infected mosquito bites.
Three years later they demonstrated that the use of insecticide treated nets could result in a 63% drop in deaths from all causes in children under five years.
Insecticide treated nets are now used across the world as one of the most effective practical interventions against malaria.
Since the Haemophilus influenzae type B vaccine was introduced, the number of cases has dropped from over 200 to zero per 100,000 in babies under a year old and from 60 to zero cases per 100,000 in children younger than five.

But there is more to The Unit than pure research and development. The MRC’s Clinical Services Department provides the first point of contact with The Unit for most Gambians; over 100,000 patients were treated in 2006.

MRC also supports clinical care at a number of Gambian health facilities including the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital, AFPRC Hospital (Farafenni), Bansang Hospital and Health centres in Keneba, Basse, Sibanor and Sukuta, to name but a few. This support includes staff, resources and technical input.

The clinical laboratories at MRC Fajara provide diagnostic services including haematology, biochemistry and microbiology, x-rays and ultrasonography for Gate, OPD and ward patients, as well as for patients recruited in clinical and vaccine trials.

The clinical laboratories at the field sites provide a much simpler but related service, working closely with Government personnel at the regional health facilities.

So, in short, the collaborative nature of the MRC Gambia Unit is one which is of benefit to the Gambian people, to the wider region and indeed to the world of medical research more generally.

My government is pleased to be able to support the ongoing work of MRC. I am delighted that the excellent relationship which exist between the UK and the Republic of The Gambia, under the leadership of H E President Jammeh, has provided the conditions for the MRC’s continuing contribution:

A contribution:

to long term health improvements;
to day to day healthcare requirements;
to capacity building and
to the economy;

This new clinic is also a major sign of the MRC’s ongoing commitment to the Rebublic of The Gambia and its people. And I am honoured, Mr Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, to be here with you today for the official opening.