Healthcare Reform
Building a system that reaches every Gambian, every time
The Gambia's healthcare system is failing its people in ways that are both visible and measurable. Maternal and child mortality from preventable conditions continues to claim lives that should never be lost. Many health centers operate without reliable electricity or running water, and essential medicines are frequently out of stock. Surgical capacity outside the capital is critically limited. Mental health is almost entirely absent from the national framework. The elderly have no dedicated care infrastructure. Healthcare workers trained at significant cost leave for better-paid positions abroad. And where you are born in The Gambia effectively determines whether you live or die in a medical emergency. The National Builders Party will end these failures, not incrementally, but comprehensively.
Imagine a Gambia where quality healthcare is a fundamental human right for every citizen, not a privilege for those who can afford it or those who happen to live near a working facility. Where world-class trauma hospitals handle the worst emergencies in every major region. Where every existing hospital and health center has been modernized and properly equipped. Where dedicated wings for women, newborns, and children exist in every major facility. Where mobile clinics reach the communities no fixed facility can serve. Where long-term care centers support the elderly in every region. Where no family is financially ruined by illness. That is not a wish. It is the plan the National Builders Party will deliver.
The NBP will build two world-class regional trauma hospitals capable of managing major emergencies, surgeries, and critical conditions with the capacity and equipment of international-standard facilities.
These landmark referral hospitals will be the most advanced ever built in The Gambia, each equipped with a 24-hour trauma center, high-specification surgical suites, an intensive care unit, comprehensive diagnostic imaging, a burns unit, a mental health emergency unit, and dedicated pediatric and obstetric emergency capability. They will serve entire regions, significantly reducing pressure on existing facilities and ensuring that serious illness or injury anywhere in the country has a world-class destination for treatment. A professional national ambulance service, with GPS-tracked units in every district and trained paramedic staff, will connect communities to these facilities when every minute counts.
The NBP will fully modernize every existing government hospital and upgrade every health center across the country to a guaranteed minimum standard.
Major hospitals across all regions will be comprehensively upgraded with expanded emergency departments, functional ICUs, surgical capability, comprehensive diagnostic equipment, and specialist outpatient services. Every government health center will receive reliable electricity with solar backup, running water, a stocked pharmacy, a basic laboratory, a maternity room with a trained midwife on duty, and cold chain vaccine storage. No community in The Gambia will be served by a facility that falls below this standard. All upgrades will be publicly tracked through a National Hospital Modernization Authority with a published timeline and accountability mechanism.
The NBP will ensure every major hospital has fully equipped dedicated wings for women, newborns, and children, and will build long-term care centers for the elderly in every region.
Every trauma hospital and upgraded secondary hospital will include a Women's Health Wing covering gynecology, reproductive health, cancer screening, fertility care, and specialist support for survivors of gender-based violence. A Labor and Delivery Wing will provide private birthing suites and a fully equipped Neonatal ICU. A Children's Wing will deliver dedicated pediatric emergency care and routine immunization and developmental screening. Regional Long-Term Care Centers in every administrative region will offer skilled nursing, physical therapy, palliative care, and social and mental health programming. A national Home Care Support Program will bring trained care assistants directly to elderly Gambians living at home.
The NBP will deploy a fleet of mobile clinic vehicles to every region so that no Gambian community is too remote to receive essential healthcare.
At least two mobile units per region will run scheduled weekly routes coordinated by the Ministry of Health and communicated in advance to communities through radio and local networks. Every stop will offer basic health assessments, antenatal and maternal care, immunizations, malaria and tuberculosis screening, HIV testing, nutrition screening, medication distribution, and public health education. Solar-powered vaccine and medication storage on every vehicle maintains cold chain integrity in the most remote areas. Community health workers and traditional birth attendants will be engaged as local partners to strengthen capacity between visits.
The NBP will implement a National Maternal Mortality Reduction Strategy with the explicit goal of cutting the maternal mortality ratio by at least 60 percent within five years.
Free antenatal care for all pregnant women will include a minimum of eight visits. Every delivery will be attended by a skilled professional in a facility equipped for obstetric emergencies. A national obstetric emergency transport protocol will ensure women in labor can reach emergency care within defined response times in both urban and rural areas. Every maternal death will be reviewed by a clinical team whose findings are used to prevent future deaths. Postpartum home visits by trained Community Health Workers will cover the two highest-risk weeks after delivery. The dedicated Labor and Delivery Wings at every major hospital form the physical backbone of this commitment.
The NBP will place mental health at the center of the national health agenda for the first time in The Gambia's history.
A National Mental Health Hospital will be established as a purpose-built specialist inpatient facility designed to therapeutic rather than custodial standards. Mental health units will be integrated into every trauma hospital and all upgraded secondary hospitals. A 24-hour mental health crisis line staffed by trained counselors and linked to mobile crisis response teams will be available nationally. All persons currently held in conditions of confinement related to mental illness will be assessed, offered treatment, and transitioned to appropriate care within the first year of government. Mental health support will also be embedded in schools and in the social programming at every Regional Long-Term Care Center.
The NBP will build a unified national digital healthcare system that connects every patient to every provider in the country, replacing paper records and ending the information gaps that cost lives.
Every Gambian will be assigned a unique Patient Health ID linked to a permanent digital health record accessible by authorized clinicians at any facility across the country. The system will enable cross-facility tracking of patient histories, prescriptions, and diagnostics, support evidence-based planning for health trends and resource deployment, and allow telemedicine consultations so patients in remote areas can access specialist advice without travel. Paper-based records will be fully phased out across all facilities. Collaboration with major international hospital networks will support remote diagnostics and professional development for Gambian medical staff.
The National Builders Party will implement a phased National Health Insurance Scheme so that no Gambian is ever denied care because they cannot afford it.
Phase 1 delivers free care at point of service from day one for all children under 15, all pregnant and postpartum women, all persons over 65, and all persons with disabilities, fully funded from the national health budget. Phase 2 introduces a contributory scheme for formally employed workers. Phase 3 extends coverage to informal sector workers through subsidized, income-scaled contributions. Phase 4 achieves full universal coverage, with the government subsidizing care for all who cannot contribute. The scheme is being developed with technical assistance from the WHO and the World Bank. Healthcare will become an accessible right, not a privilege.
For Patients and Families
You have a legal right to dignified treatment, informed consent, and access to your medical records. Free care is available from day one for children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with disabilities. The hospital or health center nearest you will be upgraded to a published minimum standard, with medicines in stock and qualified staff on duty. If a family member needs long-term care, a Regional Long-Term Care Center in your region will provide skilled nursing, rehabilitation, and social support so their final years are lived with dignity.
For Young Gambians
You will grow up in a Gambia with a healthcare system that was designed with your whole life in mind. Immunization coverage above 90 percent means the vaccine-preventable diseases that have claimed young Gambian lives will become far rarer. Mental health support will be available through a 24-hour crisis line and in your school. If you choose a career in healthcare, the NBP will fund your training and create the competitive salaries and housing conditions that make staying in The Gambia the right professional choice.
For Every Family
Where you live will no longer determine whether you survive a medical emergency. A mobile clinic visits your community on a regular schedule. Your nearest health center has medicines, a midwife on duty, and solar power keeping it running. Your mother can access cancer screening and women's health services at every major hospital. No Gambian family should face financial ruin because illness struck. Under the National Builders Party, they will not.
In The Gambia the National Builders Party builds, every person who is sick or injured receives care that is competent, dignified, and effective, regardless of where they live or what they earn. Every mother is attended by a skilled professional when she delivers. Every child is vaccinated. Every person with a manageable chronic condition has access to the medication they need. Every elderly Gambian who needs care can access it close to home. Every person experiencing a mental health crisis finds a system ready to help. Every major hospital has a dedicated wing for women, newborns, and children. Every community is reached by a mobile clinic. And no Gambian family is bankrupted by illness. The National Builders Party is the government that builds this standard and keeps it.
Healthcare is not a service a government delivers when it can afford to. It is the most fundamental expression of what a government is for. The National Builders Party will build a healthcare system worthy of every Gambian life, in every region, at every stage. No exceptions.
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