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  Team Outpost A delegation from the Association of Health Journalists (AoHJ), led by its president Sally Jarju, paid a courtesy call to the Directorate of Health Promotion and Education, DHPE, on Tuesday, January 2nd 2024, at the Directorates Office at the Medical Drug Store office in Kotu. The visit was to introduce the AoHJ 2024 activity plans and the areas it deemed necessary to collaborate and, DHPE, interventions.   Michael Manga Mendy, the Director at Health Promoting and Education, commended AoHJ in their recently concluded and successful elective congress. “Congratulations will not be limited to you (AoHJ). We have to congratulate the Health Promotion Directorate and the Ministry of Health (MoH), for accepting this opportunity that we have been thinking of. I can remember one year ago your absence was felt. This was in December last year when we needed your participation and we came to realise that there were lapses here and there. I am delighted to receive you and I will info

   | Author Shares His Views On The Current Political And Economic Criss Of The Country | By Dembo Badjie The ‘bread and butter’ issue has become the most important factor in the national discourse in recent times. When we hear the people complaining and saying The Gambia is ‘hard’, they are referring to the very high cost of living in almost all aspects of the people's needs. Prices of food commodities whether local produce or imported stuff are beyond the means of the average Gambian. Upholding liberal economic policies in a poor country like the Gambia can neither be realistic nor good economics. It is acknowledged that the high cost of living is due to the high rates of foreign exchange needed to import essential commodities into the country. The global economic downturn has contributed to the harsh economic realities many nations are faced with and The Gambia is no exception. However, the state cannot seem to be helpless in this situation.  The masses of the people cannot

A RECOMMENDATION TO  EVERY CITIZENS, PARTICULARLY RELEVANT AUTHORITIES ON HOW TO ADDRESS THIS ENDEMIC MENACE By Alhagie Sillah  When are we going to hold a serious conversation surrounding this endemic road traffic crashes (RTC) formally called Road Traffic Accident (RTA)? The rate at which Road traffic crashes is claiming lives of our people is seriously worrisome and alarming, if drastic measures are not fully effected or implemented to address this menace would further continue to result to a catastrophic and tragic loss of valuable lives. Are we going to sit, fold our hands and see Innocent citizens continue to loss their lives unbearably on a daily basis due to avoidable accidents? It has now reached to a point, whereby people feel scared to on-board a vehicle whenever traveling, because you will be thinking if you are not going to be the next victim of Road traffic crashes before reaching your final destination.  The relevant authorities have to seriously look into the frequent h

A recent tragedy of our Airport By Mod Lamin Conteh  Once upon a time, there existed a small mainland country in West Africa, The Gambia, whose general assessment of health is no other than a minimal priority to her people, the authorities, and even those in charge of their own healthcare sector. Government offices and parastatals that are ought to take care of their own health and make resounding policies that will help boost the health and practices of their people are assess to near zero in terms of their occupational health hazard protection, safety, precautions and even their own personal health. Just of recent, our airport was expose and it is just a matter of time before other institutions face similar or more horrific incidents except we fixed our priorities right.  in terms of emergency preparedness and response at airports, seaports, municipalities, telecommunications, our courts, ministries amongst other departments,  to prioritize the health of the staffs, the passengers, t

|Is here such a thing as Democratic Authoritarianism? Turkey under the Leadership of Recep Tayyib Erdogan| By Almamy Fanding Taal On July 9th, 2018, Recep Tayyip Erdogan was inaugurated as the first directly elected President of Turkey with enhanced executive powers following the victory of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its Coalition partner the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) at the snap election that was called and held on 24th June 2018.  That victory brought back to the driving seat the two allied parties that had achieved the most parliamentary seats, the AKP and MHP. Coalition Governments everywhere for the sake of stability and development are party led except in the Gambia, it is the case in Senegal, Germany, and Turkey. In the past eighteen months many things have happened in Turkey and around the world. President Recep Tayyib Erdogan secured an emphatic win in the Presidential election which was never in doubt.  His latest victory gives him a wide mandate and k

| The threat of military action in Niger by ECOWAS, and the role which The Gambia must play as a member state |   By Pa Louis Sambou   I t is certainly neither an inaccuracy nor an exaggeration to state that the Western part of the African continent which is officially known as West Africa, has had, and still experience crises which by any measure, are of far greater magnitude and scope than a coup in the Republic of Niger. Boko Haram terrorists kidnapping innocent schoolgirls, ISIS – inspired jihadist terrorising communities and conquering swathes of territory in the Sahel regions of West Africa, Alpha Condé, Alasan Outtara, corrupting their republican Constitutions, and Mackey Sall corrupting Senegalese democracy to prolong their respective times in office but to name a few of the crises which faced and still face the region, albeit without any serious response from the regional bloc, ECOWAS. However, ECOWAS officialdom wish to have us believe that a bloodless mutiny in Niger which e

| Legal Luminary Almami Fanding Taal Weighs In His Views On The Gambia’s Education System | By Almami Fanding Taal Charles Jow Memorial Academy held its Senior Secondary School Graduation Ceremony on Saturday July 15 2023 at the school campus in Bundung. The school is located behind the Bundung Police Station and the Magistrate Court. A well-attended ceremony and all the speeches were excellent the Chairmen of the PTA and the Board of Trustees and Principal and His Deputy. The Guest Speaker gave an inspiring address to the students in English Mandinka and Wolof. The day belonged to the students in my view. All the graduating students turn out sharply wearing white shoes and as they walked to their seats under the special Tent for their day, the School Choir sang the School Anthem and a farewell song. I was moved by the lyrics of the Anthem because I do not remember my Gambia High School Anthem. However, I can clearly recall that music or theatre was not part of the curriculum during ou