Dr. Fatou Jallow

Dr. Fatou Jallow is a general practitioner at Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital (EFSTH) in Banjul — The Gambia's sole tertiary hospital and the national referral centre for all specialist medical care. With 10 years of clinical experience, she provides comprehensive primary and general medical care to Gambia's population in a context where specialist physicians are extremely limited.

The Gambia is one of West Africa's smallest countries, with a population of approximately 2.5 million people and a healthcare system facing acute specialist shortages. General practitioners like Dr. Jallow are essential to the healthcare system, managing a wide range of conditions — from infectious diseases like malaria and tuberculosis, to non-communicable diseases like hypertension and diabetes, to mental health conditions that would typically be managed by a psychiatrist in higher-resource settings.

Dr. Jallow has developed particular familiarity with mental health primary care, managing common psychiatric conditions including depression, anxiety, and basic psychosis management within a generalist framework when specialist psychiatric services are unavailable. She advocates for improved mental health recognition in primary care in The Gambia.

She conducts consultations in English, Wolof, and Mandinka, enabling her to serve the majority of Gambia's linguistically diverse population.

Dr. Jallow completed her MBBS at the University of The Gambia Medical and Health Sciences campus (in collaboration with international partners) — one of The Gambia's newer medical training programmes designed to reduce the country's dependence on overseas medical training. She completed her general practice training at Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, gaining extensive experience in emergency medicine, internal medicine, infectious disease, and maternal health in a high-volume, resource-limited setting. She has participated in West African College of Physicians continuing medical education programmes and WHO mental health gap action programme (mhGAP) training.

Dr. Jallow's clinical practice covers the broad spectrum of conditions presenting at The Gambia's national hospital. For mental health, she uses the WHO mhGAP guidelines to diagnose and manage depression, anxiety, psychosis, epilepsy, and alcohol use disorders within a primary care framework, prescribing and monitoring mental health medications in the absence of ready psychiatric specialist access.

For infectious disease, she manages malaria (including severe malaria with IV artesunate), tuberculosis treatment following DOTS protocol, and HIV/AIDS care including ART initiation and monitoring. For non-communicable diseases, she manages hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular risk.

She provides antenatal care and postnatal primary care, and manages common acute presentations in the outpatient and inpatient setting.

The Gambia has a small but growing medical tourism presence, particularly from the West African diaspora visiting relatives, and from European tourists — the country attracts British, Scandinavian, and German visitors each year given its warm winter climate, English-speaking status, and relative affordability. International NGO workers, diplomatic staff, and tourists in The Gambia can access medical care at Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital or through Banjul's network of private clinics.

Dr. Jallow consults in English, Wolof, and Mandinka, providing clear communication for British and anglophone patients as well as local and diaspora patients. For conditions requiring specialist investigations or interventions beyond the hospital's capacity, she advises on referral options to Dakar in Senegal or to medical facilities abroad, and can assist patients in navigating referral pathways.

Dr. Jallow has been recognised by the Gambia Medical Association for her contributions to general practice and primary care in The Gambia, including her particular work in expanding mental health identification and management at the primary care level in a setting where psychiatric specialist services are severely limited. She has participated in WHO mental health gap action programme (mhGAP) training workshops and has contributed to national efforts to integrate evidence-based mental health management into Gambian primary care.

She is a member of the West African College of Physicians and participates in its continuing medical education activities. Her commitment to evidence-based management of both mental health and infectious disease within a resource-limited setting is recognised among colleagues at Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital.