Dr. Fatoumata Jallow

Dr. Fatoumata Jallow is a consultant paediatrician at Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital (RVTH) in Banjul — the Gambia's principal public hospital and the country's only tertiary referral centre for paediatric specialist care. With 11 years of clinical practice, Dr. Jallow is one of the Gambia's most experienced paediatricians, managing the full breadth of childhood illness in a West African context defined by significant infectious disease, nutritional challenges, and limited specialist resources.

RVTH's Paediatric Department receives referrals from across the Greater Banjul Area and the country's regional hospitals. Dr. Jallow manages both the acute paediatric ward — handling sick neonates, children with severe malaria, sepsis, and pneumonia — and the outpatient clinic, where she follows children with chronic conditions including sickle cell disease, severe acute malnutrition recovery, and tuberculosis.

She is deeply committed to preventive paediatric health and participates in immunisation outreach programmes, community malnutrition screening, and paediatric nurse training. Dr. Jallow works closely with international NGOs operating in the Gambia — including those delivering therapeutic feeding programs — contributing her specialist expertise to improve childhood health outcomes across the country.

Dr. Jallow completed her MBBS at the University of the Gambia School of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences — the country's primary medical school, whose graduates are trained in the specific disease patterns of West Africa. She completed her specialist training in Paediatrics at Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital, combined with rotations at hospitals in Senegal and Ghana, obtaining the Master of Medicine (MMed) in Paediatrics.

She subsequently completed the Diploma in Tropical Child Health at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine — one of the world's leading institutions for tropical medicine training — further deepening her expertise in paediatric malaria, nutritional disease, and infectious illness in tropical settings. She is a candidate Fellow of the West African College of Physicians (WACP), Paediatrics Faculty, and is registered with the Gambia Medical and Dental Association.

Dr. Jallow's core clinical expertise is in the management of acute and chronic childhood illness in a West African setting. She leads the management of severe malaria — including cerebral malaria and severe malarial anaemia — using IV artesunate and blood transfusion protocols. She manages neonatal sepsis, preterm complications, and birth asphyxia in RVTH's neonatal unit.

She has particular expertise in severe acute malnutrition (SAM), managing children through the WHO IMAM protocol including F-75 and F-100 therapeutic feeds and ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF). She diagnoses and initiates anti-tuberculosis therapy in paediatric TB, coordinates sickle cell disease management programs, and manages childhood pneumonia and diarrhoeal disease with appropriate antibiotics and rehydration therapy. She performs paediatric lumbar puncture for meningitis diagnosis and IV cannulation in children of all ages.

Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital is the primary healthcare destination for children in Banjul, including children of expatriates and NGO workers based in the Gambia. Dr. Jallow consults in English, Mandinka, Wolof, and Fula, making her accessible to patients from across West Africa's diverse linguistic communities.

For paediatric conditions requiring specialist services not available in the Gambia — such as paediatric surgery, cardiac interventions, or oncology — Dr. Jallow coordinates referrals to centres in Senegal (Dakar), Ghana, or international evacuation destinations. She provides comprehensive referral letters and medical summaries in English to facilitate continuity of care.

Dr. Jallow has been recognised by the Gambia Medical and Dental Association for her contributions to paediatric care and her role in malnutrition management programs. She has presented at West African College of Physicians paediatric faculty conferences on the management of severe malaria in children and the integration of community-based nutritional interventions with hospital-based management.

She contributes to UNICEF-supported nutrition and child health programs in the Gambia and has participated in clinical capacity-building workshops supported by the West African Health Organisation (WAHO). She mentors University of Gambia medical students on paediatric clinical rotations.