The Gambia Government/MRC Joint Committee, which was formed in 1955, convened on 30th September 2015 at MRC Unit, in Fajara to discuss scientific developments in The Gambia, in consultation with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHSW), Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology and representatives from the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, National Public Health Labs, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations and World Health Organisation.
MRC’s Strategic Development Plan
Welcoming all participants, The Unit Director, Professor Umberto D’Alessandro, presented the MRC’s Strategic Development Plan, which he said, is to contribute to the post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda, Goal 3; ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all ages. This will be done by producing, and carrying out research, the evidence necessary to improve health in West Africa and beyond. The Unit’s specific objectives are to contribute to the control of infectious diseases of public health importance in West Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, addressing the unacceptably high burden of maternal and neonatal mortality, design and implement next generation interventions against nutrition-related diseases through discovery science, and strengthen research on non-communicable diseases.

The Unit’s vision for the next five years, he said, is to be at the forefront of research on priority areas for global health; to contribute building the new elite  West African scientists; and remain an internationally recognised centre of excellence in sub-Saharan Africa.
The approach is to create an enabling environment for research, and to carry out multidisciplinary research. The Unit wishes to form an alliance with a well recognised West African institution, to form a hub for research and training in the Region.

Three factors are important for the success of this plan, namely the presence of internationally competitive scientists able to identify priority knowledge gaps and to respond efficiently to call for proposals, the quality of the research platforms and The Unit’s excellent facilities. All these factors provide the competitive edge needed to secure competitive grants.

Remarks from The Gambian Government
Honourable Minister Dr Omar Sey thanked the MRC, for contributing immensely to influencing policy through its research activities. Examples are the work on insecticide-treated nets, hepatitis B vaccine, which has been implemented as part of the EPI programme, the nationwide TB prevalence survey, which provided a fair estimation of the TB burden in the country.

The Minister commended the MRC for assisting in the development of the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, which was presented to the  National Assembly last month and was subjected to review by international reviewers, which includes Comms Tech and UNESCO. He reported that the policy was given a clean bill of health as the policy is responsive to the needs of health technology and innovation in The Gambia.

Minister Sey urged the MRC to increase its visibility. He requested for the current memorandum of understanding between the Gambian Government and the MRC, signed decades ago, to be reviewed and adapted to the current situation.

Dr Samba Ceesay, Acting Director of Health Services, presented the Government’s scientific overview; the MOHSW through the Directorate of Health Services, operates different programmes, some of them supported by the Global Fund, complementing government efforts, to combat HIV, TB and Malaria.

He also presented the Vision, Mission and Goal of the Ministry. The vision of the department of Health services, he said, is to provide quality and affordable health services for all by the year 2020. The mission is to promote and protect the health of the population through the equitable provision of affordable health care. The goal is to reduce morbidity and mortality, which contributes significantly to the quality of life within the Gambian population.

The Perment Secretarty, Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Mr Cherno Barry highlighted Government’s plans to establish a directorate in consultation with MRC, to address other components of research which are not currently being addressed.