Health Legislation

This Act provides for a sustainable, effective and efficient national statistical system for The Gambia for the collection, production and dissemination of integrated, relevant, reliable, timely statistical information, establishes The Gambia Bureau of Statistics as a supervisory authority for the national statistical system.

These regulations establish the Health Professionals Council. The council has, among other things, the following attributions: advise the Minister; work in collaboration with the appropriate bodies, ensure that health professional training offered in the country is of high standard; make sure that professional ethics are observed by professionals; follow up and supervise that the names of registered professionals and those who are cancelled from the registry due to various reasons are properly kept by the secretariat.

The Act establishes and regulates a decentralised local government system for the Gambia; it makes provision for the functions, powers and duties of local authorities and for matters connected therewith.

The Proclamation regulates different aspects of Public Health such as food quality control and standards (Articles 8 and 9); water quality control (Article 10); occupational health (Article 11), waste handling and disposal (Article 12); availability of toilet facilities in health institutions (Article 13); control of bathing places and pools (Article 14); disposal of dead bodies (art.15); control at entrance and exit ports in Ethiopia making mandatory vaccines for people coming from outside (Article 16); and Communicable Diseases (art.17).

The Constitution of the Gambia was adopted in 1997. It is the supreme law of the country and consists of 232 articles that are grouped into 23 chapters. The Constitution sets out the values and principles of the state, defines supremacy rules for the law, proclaims fundamental rights and freedoms, establishes key bodies of the state, etc.

The Constitution was promulgated in 1995. It includes 106 articles addressing a large number of issues as the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms, the fundamental principles of the state and institutional arrangements.

The Act regulates the profession of nurse and midwife in The Gambia.

The Public Health Act makes provisions for public and environmental health and other matters connected therewith.

This Act makes provision for the establishment of a Medical and Dental Council; for the Registration of Medical and Dental Practitioners; for the discipline of persons registered under the Act and other matters connected therewith.

The Act provides for the establishment of Hospital Management Boards, the charging fees for medical and health services and the regulation of such fees, the regulation of conditions under which private hospitals or other health facilities may be established, and for connected matters.

This Act makes provision requiring public corporations, companies, persons and other business enterprises to make financial contributions towards the operation and maintenance of the medical services, and connected matters.

The Act makes provision for the acquisition of citizenship of The Gambia by registration in certain cases; regulates the manner and circumstances in which aliens may naturalised as citizens of The Gambia and in which citizens of The Gambia may renounce or be deprived of their citizenship; and makes provision for certain other matters relating to citizenship of The Gambia.

The Act consolidates and makes better provision for the control of immigration into and residence in The Gambia.

This Act regulates the imposition of quarantine and connected matters.

This Act makes provisions for the registration of births, deaths and marriages.

The document provides an Essential Medicines List of Gambia.