Construction of a health care centre in Munyagen, The Gambia

Munyagen is a community of about 4000 inhabitants in the Jokadou District in the North Bank Region of The Gambia. Despite improvements in recent years, The Gambia, like many other least developed countries, faces the challenge of providing adequate health care for the entire population: The country has a high rate of infant mortality, malaria and tuberculosis also remain serious problems. A major cause of this is the difficulty of accessing medical facilities due to the sometimes long distances in many regions, including the North Bank Region. The nearest hospital is about 50 km from Munyagen, making it difficult to reach, especially in emergencies. 

The construction of a community health centre by 2026 is intended to improve health care in Munyagen and its surrounding villages. The goal of the project is to achieve universal health coverage and provide access to safe and effective medicines and vaccines for all residents of the region. This is expected to reduce the high rates of child and maternal mortality, malaria, cholera, diarrhea, HIV/AIDS and malnutrition by 70% by 2030, increase life expectancy and improve the lives of the community and surrounding villages in the long term. 

The project is planned and realized by the Munyagen Development Foundation, in cooperation with the government of The Gambia. The Munyagen Foundation works self-organized assisted by architects and civil engineers. The construction is supported by numerous residents of Munyagen and the surrounding area. After the completion of the health centre, the facility will be operated by the central health authority of The Gambia, which will take over a major part of the financing of the operation. 

Weitblick Freiburg e.V. supports the project by collecting donations for the construction of the health care centre. Once the building is completed, the donations will finance the provision of beds, running water, medicines, bandages and other medical supplies. Every donation helps to improve the living conditions of the people in Munyagen. 

If you have any further questions, please contact Barham Kebbeh.