The malaria death rate in The Gambia is 305 per 100,000 children ages 0-4. Almost 15 percent of children under 5 sleep under treated bednets, a much higher proportion than in most West African nations. The government reported at the end of 2003 that the year had seen a significant decrease in the malaria incidence rate. The tuberculosis death rate is 49 per 100,000. Infection rates of both HIV-1 and HIV-2 are about 1 percent.

Sources: BBC News country profile, United Nations Statistics Division, UNAIDS; AllAfrica.com, The Independent (Banjul), December 22, 2003

Source: UNAIDS

Demographic data contained in this section was obtained from the following sources: The Population Reference Bureau’s 2009 World Population Data Sheet was used for total population, life expectancy at birth, infant mortality, fertility, birth rate, death rate, % of married women 15-49 using modern methods of contraception, % of population 15-49 with HIV/AIDS in 2007/2008, and the GNI PPP per capita (2008). Literacy rates were found in the Population Reference Bureau’s publication 2005 Women of Our World. HIV prevalence data for 2001 and 2003 was obtained from the UNAIDS Barcelona 2002 report; HIV prevalence and orphan data for 2005 was obtained from the UNAIDS Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic 2006. Data on the % women who have discussed AIDS prevention with their husband or partner can be found in ORC Macro and USAID’s Women’s Lives and Experiences: Changes in the Past Ten Years (Research Findings from the Demographic and Health Surveys). Childhood malaria mortality data was accessed in 2003 from the United Nations Statistics Divisions’ Millennium Indicators. Tuberculosis data was obtained from the United Nations Statistics Division’s Millennium Indicators: MDGInfo 2006. In some cases information was unavailable.

The three major referral hospitals in the Gambia are:

• The Royal Victoria Hospital, Banjul
• Bansang Hospital, Bansang
• Farafenni Hospital, Farafenni

Sources: WHO; AllAfrica.com, The Independent (Banjul), November 12, 2003; Medics Travel

Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratories ( website )

Among its projects in The Gambia, MRC conducted the first trials of GlaxoSmithKline's malaria vaccine known as RTS,S/AS02. This vaccine is now being further tested in Mozambique. In other research MRC and collaborating scientists have identified genetic markers in the Gambian population that are associated with protection against tuberculosis.

Sources: Seattle Post Intelligencer, PubMed abstract

University of The Gambia Medical School

1. The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) has in its third round of funding approved Gambian proposals for both HIV/AIDS and malaria programs. The HIV/AIDS grant is for $6.2 million over two years and $14.6 million over five years; the malaria grant is for $5.7 million over two years and $13.9 million over five years. These are the first Gambian proposals to receive GFATM approval. Both grant agreements are awaiting final signatures.

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