The Gambia Country Coordinating committee (GCC) which coordinates applications to the Global Fund for Tuberculosis (TB), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and malaria, announced on 30th June 2016 the appointment of Dr Abdou K. Sillah to the GCC. The goal of the membership of the Committee from MRCG is to foster collaboration with The Gambia Government and hence increase The Unit’s visibility by highlighting MRCG’s research findings in this forum.
The GCC comprises of members from the, National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), Registrar Gambia Medical and Dental Council, Hands on Care, Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) Hospital, Centre for Innovation Against Malaria (CIAM), and MRC Unit The Gambia. The appointment of Dr Abdou K. Sillah a member of the childhood TB team will make him the second member of staff appointed.

The first member of staff appointed at the GCC, is Dr Ramou Njie, a specialist in liver diseases and head of both the Gambia Hepatitis Intervention Study (GHIS) and the Prevention of Liver Fibrosis and Cancer in Africa (PROLIFICA) project. Having more than one MRCG Staff at the GCC, is an excellent opportunity to give expertise advice on Tuberculosis impact and programmatic funding areas in combating the morbidity and mortality of TB whilst integrating TB programme with other programmatic areas like HIV/AIDS.

Dr Abdou K. Sillah is a Research Clinician working with Childhood TB Programme Grant who also serves as an Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Medicine & Therapeutic, School of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of the Gambia (UTG). Prior to his appointment, Dr Sillah worked as a medical doctor at the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital (EFSTH) for 2 years before being appointed as Research Clinician African European Tuberculosis Consortium (AE-TBC) at TB Platform MRCG in 2012. Dr Sillah joined the Childhood TB Programme Grant in 2013/2014 and he is currently involved in recruiting, screening and follow up of a significant cohort of childhood TB contacts with TB in The Gambia and placing those under 5 not infected on Isoniazid Chemoprophylaxis.

Dr Sillah also plays a vital role in cementing the links with the National TB program and facilitated training programs in childhood TB in The Gambia and currently designing an implementation plan to transfer contact tracing efforts to the National Leprosy/TB Control Programme (NLTP)