Health is Global Symposium Programme

Biography of Dr Ahmadou Lamin Samateh, Minister of Health, Gambia

Until his appointment as the Honourable Minister of Health in 2019, Dr Ahmadou Lamin Samateh served as Chief Medical Director of the country’s only teaching hospital: the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital in Banjul, where he had worked since 2002. In his former role, Dr Ahmadou Lamin Samateh championed the postgraduate specialisation in various fields of Medicine. Hitherto, medical doctors from The Gambia are able to receive specialisation training abroad. He additionally served as Senior Consultant General Surgeon and Head of Department of Surgery at the same hospital. Dr Samateh served as Senior Lecturer in Surgery at the School of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences—at the University of The Gambia—and spearheaded specialisation training for surgeons in the country.

In his tenure as Honourable Minister of Health, Dr Ahmadou Lamin Samateh together with his team, have made tremendous strides in improving the nation’s health sector. Postgraduate training for specialisation in various specialities have been established in the country; there are more highly equipped health facilities to improve access to health care; National Health Insurance scheme has started for the first time in the country; digitalization processes such as electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics System (e-CRVS) and other digital health solutions have also started in the health sector and an ultramodern clinical waste management systems using microwave technology has been established. These are just few of the numerous achievements he has spearheaded in the health sector.

The Honourable Minister served as a member of various professional bodies such as The Medical and Dental Council of The Gambia as well as The Gambia Government and Medical Research Council Joint Ethics Committee, amongst many others. He has collaborated with scientists globally and has produced numerous scientific literatures.

Dr. Ahmadou Lamin Samateh holds a Master’s degree in Health Planning and Management (MHPM) and a combined degree in Medicine and Surgery (MBBS). He is also a Fellow of the West African College of Surgeons (FWACS).

Biography of Professor Umberto D'Alessandro

Professor Umberto D'Alessandro graduated in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Pisa, Italy, and obtained an MSc in 1990 and a PhD in 1996 from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK. He worked as a clinician in Benin and Kenya before joining the MRC Unit The Gambia in 1990 as a clinical epidemiologist. There, he evaluated the Gambian National Programme on insecticide-treated bed nets, which demonstrated a 25% reduction in childhood mortality.

In 1996, he joined the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium, where he developed a research programme focusing on three main areas: malaria epidemiology, antimalarial treatment, including drug resistance, and malaria preventive interventions. His research was conducted in several malaria-endemic countries, including Uganda, Burkina Faso, Benin, Vietnam and Peru.

In 2011, he returned to the MRC Unit The Gambia as Theme Leader for Disease Control and Elimination. He subsequently served as Unit Director from 2014 to 2026, providing scientific and institutional leadership during a period of major expansion of the Unit's research programme and partnerships. Since 2014, he has been Professor of Epidemiology at LSHTM. In September 2026, he was seconded half-time to the European Vaccine Initiative as Medical Director.

His current research programme focuses on malaria elimination and eradication, with particular emphasis on generating evidence to guide the development, evaluation and implementation of interventions to reduce malaria transmission and disease.

Malaria research at the MRC Unit The Gambia and its contribution to Global Health.  

Abstract

For almost 80 years, the MRC Unit The Gambia has generated evidence that has contributed to reducing the malaria burden in sub-Saharan Africa and globally. The Unit has provided a unique environment for multidisciplinary research spanning epidemiology, including clinical research on antimalarial drugs, diagnostics and vaccines, entomology, parasitology, immunology, genomics and social sciences. A landmark contribution was the pioneering evaluation of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) in rural The Gambia in the late 1980s and early 1990s. These studies showed that widespread use of ITNs could substantially reduce malaria morbidity and childhood mortality. Modelling estimates suggest that between 2000 and 2015, ITNs in sub-Saharan Africa averted approximately 450 million clinical malaria cases, accounting for about 68% of cases averted by major malaria control interventions.  

Research at the Unit has also advanced understanding of malaria transmission and immunity, including asymptomatic infection, naturally acquired immunity and malaria in pregnancy. Clinical research on antimalarial drugs has contributed to evidence on treatment efficacy, safety and emerging drug resistance, while diagnostic research has supported improved detection of malaria infection. More recently, the Unit has contributed to the development and evaluation of malaria vaccines and strategies aimed at reducing transmission.

An important contribution of the Unit has been the development of sustained research capacity in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in The Gambia, and in the strengthening of African and international collaborations. MRC Unit The Gambia demonstrates how high-quality research conducted in an endemic setting can generate evidence with global relevance and contribute to progress towards malaria elimination.