1. Home
  2. West Africa
  3. Gambia

Cuban doctors on malaria assessment mission

A four-man team of doctors from Cuba has arrived in The Gambia to assess its Malaria Control Programme, the head of the programme, Marno Jawla, said on Friday. The team, which is due to spend 45 days in The Gambia, will visit various sites in the country where the programme is being implemented, Jawla told IRIN. "They want to see what we are doing, how we do it and possibly discuss with us and also learn from us. They are on a study tour," he said. Since 1995, Jawla said, hundreds of Cuban health practitioners have worked in The Gambia's health system at various levels, from major hospitals to villages. "They often stay only for two years and then go back home," Jawla said, adding that some of those who came for the malaria programme had not seen malaria patients before since Cuba is free of the disease. Malaria is the main killer in The Gambia, he said. According to UNDP's Human Development Report 2001, the country recorded 27,369 cases per 100,000 people in 1997.

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

Share this article

Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

Become a member of The New Humanitarian

Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

Join