Washington DC: August 14th 2024: His Excellency Momodou Lamin Bah, Ambassador of The Gambia to the United States of America on August 1st, 2024 held a tripartite virtual meeting with officials from the Department of Neurosurgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School in the United States of America and Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital (EFSTH) in The Gambia.
The engagement offered Ambassador Bah the opportunity to be briefed on Brigham Department of Neurosurgery’s medical partnership with EFSTH – The Gambia and its upcoming medical mission in September (14th – 22nd).
Speaking at the meeting, Ambassador Bah expressed delight at the initiative and also commended the Department of Neurosurgery Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School for the foresight to support The Gambia’s healthcare sector. He observed that partnership with the Government in sharing expertise with medical practitioners in the country through educational sessions and live surgical teaching pertaining to complex medical procedures would help address the capacity gap in the sector.
Ambassador Bah further added that this would not only enhance local capacities but also foster a sustained partnership in healthcare excellence between the Department of Neurosurgery Brigham and Women’s Hospital Harvard Medical School and EFSTH.
The Gambian Ambassador suggested the need to institutionalise the medical mission while assuring the team of the Embassy’s continuous collaboration and support. Ambassador Bah used the opportunity to commend Dr. William Jabang, a Neurosurgeon at Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital for initiating the partnership.
For his part, Dr. Saksham Gupta, MD, MPH Department of Neurosurgery Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School said the rationale behind engaging the Embassy was anchored on the fact that their mission aligns with the goals of The Gambia Embassy in Washington DC to support healthcare improvements and educational exchanges between the United States and The Gambia. This, he added was what motivated them to establish a collaborative relationship with the Embassy which he said would greatly facilitate the success of this and potential future endeavours. Dr. Saksham said they look forward to giving practical support to EFSTH during their medical trip in September.
Other medical doctors in the U.S. team who spoke during the meeting, expressed similar remarks and also indicated their readiness to share expertise and experiences with their counterparts in The Gambia during and after the medical mission.
Dr. Mustapha Bittaye, Chief Medical Director at the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, thanked Dr. Jabang and the medical doctors in the U.S. for coming up with such an important collaboration and assured them that his team in Banjul will facilitate the success of the mission in September 2024. He returned gratitude to the Ambassador for the sterling support the Embassy has over the years rendered to the health sector. Dr. William Jabang, Neurosurgeon at Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, expressed delight to having set up the partnership, and thanked Dr. Saksham and team in the U.S. for the initiative.