By: Yunus S Saliu
The Directorate of the National Pharmaceuticals Services (NPS) of the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the University of The Gambia (UTG) on Tuesday, 23rd January, held a one-day stakeholder workshop to develop a competency-basedcurriculum for a Doctorate Program for the UTG.
The daylong workshop was held at the Metzy Residence Hotel, Kotu, and it was attended by different relevant stakeholders across the sector.
The day-long engagement was necessitated by the Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) outbreak in the country in 2022, which saw over 70 children die after consuming contaminated cough syrup.
This incident warranted the setting up of a panel by the government to probe the incident and among the recommendations made by the panel is the establishment of a pharmacy program at the University of The Gambia.
In her opening remarks, the Deputy Director of the National Pharmaceutical Services, Fatou Samateh, expressed delight in the workshop, describing it as another milestone moment for the country as participants gathered to develop a curriculum for pharmacy program for the country’s citadel of learning.
She said the University of The Gambia has been training other professionals for over two decades but pharmacists are not among them.
“But now, it is high time that became a thing of the past,” she emphasized.
Madam Samateh, therefore, commended the government of The Gambia through the Ministry of Health for this development and also the World Bank for providing not only funding but also technical support, and the University of The Gambia for their acceptance to run the program.
She was quick to note that there are currently less than 40 pharmacists in the whole country, serving the pharmaceutical needs of the people both in the public and private sectors. This, she said, fell far below the World Health Organization’s recommendation.
“So, with our population of 2.4 million people, we are required to have about 10,000 pharmacists altogether to serve the people,” she pointed out.
Lloyd Matowe, the Director of Pharmaceutical System Africa (PSA), the consultancy firm tasked with developing this competency-based curriculum alongside key stakeholders, dilated on his experience throughout his journey across Africa and described The Gambia as a welcoming country full of hospitality.
Prof. Gabriel Ogun, Provost School of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences at the UTG, who deputized for the Vice Chancellor of the University of The Gambia, explained that in 2022 70 children died in the country, describing the period as a sad time for the country.
Prof. Ogun also a pathologist said he directly performed an autopsy on three of the children, and when he saw the first signs of the report, he realized that there was a problem in the country.
He highlighted the challenges they were facing, which included insufficient pharmacists in the system.
He, therefore, urged the Ministry of Health and stakeholders to support the programme to achieve their desired objectives.
Dr. Momodu T. Nyassi, Deputy Director of Health Services at the Ministry of Health, underscored the importance of human resource development which, he continued, is one of the aspects that the Minister of Health has always emphasized.
He stated that the health minister tasked almost all the Directorates at the Ministry of Health to come up with training programs that would strengthen the health system.