Dr. Fatoumata Jallow

Dr. Fatoumata Jallow is an internist at the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital (RVTH) in Banjul, where she has practiced for 13 years as one of the Gambia's small but growing cadre of specialist physicians. As the country's only national teaching hospital, RVTH handles the most complex medical cases from across the Gambia, and Dr. Jallow's internal medicine practice provides essential specialist input for the wide range of conditions that exceed primary care capacity. Her clinical focus has developed around the intersection of infectious and non-communicable disease that characterises the Gambian health environment in the current decade: HIV and AIDS management is a significant part of her practice, with patients on antiretroviral therapy requiring long-term monitoring and management of drug toxicity and treatment failure; malaria and tuberculosis continue to generate complex inpatient admissions; and the growing prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease in the Gambian adult population has expanded the non-communicable disease caseload at RVTH. Dr. Jallow is respected within the hospital for her systematic and thorough approach to clinical diagnosis and her ability to manage complex multi-system disease in patients who have often presented late. She communicates in English and Mandinka and is known for her commitment to patient education, helping patients understand their conditions and the importance of long-term treatment adherence.

Dr. Jallow completed her MBChB at the University of the Gambia and undertook her postgraduate specialist training in internal medicine through an MMed programme at the University of Ghana Medical School in Accra, which has served as an important regional training centre for specialist physician development across Anglophone West Africa. Her training included rotations in infectious disease, nephrology, endocrinology, and general internal medicine, providing the broad generalist specialist foundation required for a single-hospital context. She returned to the Gambia after qualification and joined RVTH's medical team.

Dr. Jallow's clinical expertise spans the management of both infectious and non-communicable diseases prevalent in the Gambia. She is skilled in HIV management including antiretroviral therapy initiation and monitoring, management of opportunistic infections, and care of patients with HIV-TB co-infection. She manages malaria across the spectrum from uncomplicated to severe, oversees tuberculosis treatment in coordination with the national TB programme, and manages hypertension and diabetes with available therapeutic agents. She conducts diagnostic workup for anaemia, chronic kidney disease, and systemic diseases using the laboratory resources available at RVTH, and performs basic procedures including lumbar puncture and blood transfusion management.

Dr. Jallow has engaged with the Medical Research Council (MRC) Gambia's clinical research network, contributing patient data from RVTH to studies on HIV outcomes and malaria management in the Gambian population. She has participated in national treatment programme audits and has presented clinical findings at meetings of the Gambia Medical and Dental Association. Her commitment to evidence-based practice shapes her clinical teaching of junior doctors and medical students at RVTH.

Dr. Jallow provides internal medicine consultations for international visitors in Banjul who require assessment of complex or persistent medical conditions during their stay. She is experienced in reviewing medical records from British and other European health systems and provides clear communication in English. Members of the Gambian diaspora returning from the United Kingdom and Europe also seek her care for medical assessment during visits home. Appointments are arranged through RVTH's medical outpatient clinic.

Dr. Jallow is a member of the Gambia Medical and Dental Association and is recognised at RVTH as one of the hospital's most skilled internal medicine specialists. She has been commended for her contributions to clinical teaching and for her advocacy for improved HIV treatment access and retention in the Gambian health system.