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Mental health in the Republic of The Gambia

Part of: BJPsych International Country Profiles Collection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Imogen Kretzschmar ,
Ousman Nyan ,
Ann Marie Mendy  and
Bamba Janneh
Imogen Kretzschmar
Affiliation:
South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust, London, UK, email imogenkretzschmar@gmail.com
Ousman Nyan
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, School of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of The Gambia and Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital, Banjul, The Gambia
Ann Marie Mendy
Affiliation:
Departmental Matron, Tanka Tanka Psychiatric Hospital, Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital, Banjul, The Gambia
Bamba Janneh
Affiliation:
Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital, Banjul, The Gambia
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The Republic of The Gambia, on the west coast of Africa, is a narrow enclave into Senegal (which surrounds the nation on three sides), with a coastline on the Atlantic Ocean, enclosing the mouth of the River Gambia. The smallest country on mainland Africa, The Gambia covers 11 295 km2 and has a population of 1705 000. There are five major ethnic groups: Mandinka, Fula, Wolof, Jola and Sarahuleh. Muslims represent 95% of the population. English is the official language but a miscellany of minor languages are also spoken (Serere, Aku, Mandjago, etc.). The Gambia has a history steeped in trade, with records of Arab traders dating back to the ninth century, its river serving as an artery into the continent, reaching as far as Mauritania. Indeed, as many as 3 million slaves were sold from the region during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The Gambia gained independence from the UK in 1965 and joined the Commonwealth of Nations.

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Country profiles
Information
International Psychiatry , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , May 2012 , pp. 38 - 40
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This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits noncommercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists 2012

References

Sources

Nyan, O., Mendy, A. M., Moraru, D., et al (2011) Diagnostic characteristics of inpatients in a Western African psychiatric hospital. World Journal of Biological Psychiatry, 12, 85–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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World Health Organization (2007) Gambia Summary. Mental Improvement for Nations Development. Available at http://www.who.int/mental_health/policy/country/GambiaSummary_7May2007NOPics.pdf (accessed March 2012).Google Scholar
World Health Organization (2009) Country Cooperation Strategy: The Gambia. Available at http://www.who.int/countryfocus/cooperation_strategy/ccsbrief_gmb_en.pdf (accessed March 2012).Google Scholar
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