Stakeholders from the disability community, representing various organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) and government ministries, on Thursday gathered at the Gambia Organisation for the Visually Impaired (GOVI) Resource Centre in Kanifing for a sensitisation meeting on the implementation and enforcement of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2021.
The event, jointly organised by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare and the National Advisory Council for Persons with Disabilities (NACPWD), aimed to update participants on progress made in enforcing the Act and to discuss challenges encountered since its enactment.
Speaking at the opening, Mr. Modou Suwareh, Principal Social Welfare Officer representing the Ministry, said the forum was convened to engage stakeholders on practical measures taken to implement the Disability Act. He reminded participants that the Ministry serves as the custodian of the Act and is responsible for coordinating and supervising its implementation across all sectors.
Mr. Suwareh outlined several key achievements since the Act’s passage, including the gazetting of the Act in 2023, which marked its official enforcement; the establishment of the National Advisory Council for Persons with Disabilities, chaired by His Worship Muhammed Krubally; the refurbishment of a permanent Secretariat in Banjul, scheduled for official inauguration and handover this Saturday; and the creation of a Disability Fund, through which the Ministry disbursed D4 million last year to 10 OPDs, the Gambia Federation of the Disabled (GFD), and the Advisory Council.
He further revealed that another D4 million has been approved for 2025, following a nationwide needs assessment to identify priority areas for support. “Our wish is to support everyone, but because the funds are limited, we will prioritise organisations that were not assisted last year,” he explained.
Additional initiatives, he said, include the rehabilitation of the National Rehabilitation Centre in Banjul, in collaboration with Stand (formerly Start4Africa), and plans to decentralise services by establishing a rehabilitation unit at Bansang Hospital, expected to open in January 2026.
Representing the Ministry of Justice, Senior State Counsel Fatoumatta Drammeh commended The Gambia’s progress in strengthening legal frameworks for disability inclusion. She recalled that the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2021 followed The Gambia’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2016, marking the country’s first comprehensive legal instrument protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
“This law was long overdue,” she said. “The government enacted it to ensure equality before the law and full participation of persons with disabilities in national development.”
Counsel Drammeh emphasised that the Act guarantees the right to employment, accessibility, and equal participation in all spheres of development, while also prescribing penalties for violations of disability rights. She urged persons with disabilities and their organisations to continuously engage government institutions to ensure effective implementation.
“The laws and policies of this country give every Gambian equal opportunity,” she said. “Accessibility to infrastructure, communication, and services remains a challenge, but it is central to building a just and inclusive society — in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.”
In his summary remarks, His Worship Muhammed Krubally, Chairman of the National Advisory Council for Persons with Disabilities (NACPWD), underscored the need for sustained collaboration among government institutions, OPDs, and development partners to ensure effective enforcement of the Act.
Mr. Krubally — who is The Gambia’s only visually impaired magistrate, serving as Principal Magistrate at the Banjul Magistrate’s Court, Chairman of the GFD, Secretary General of GOVI, and Secretary General of the West African Federation of Persons with Disabilities — called for continued advocacy for resources, technical capacity, and policy alignment to strengthen disability inclusion nationwide.
The sensitisation brought together representatives from government institutions, OPDs, civil society organisations, and development partners, all reaffirming their commitment to advancing the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities across The Gambia.
The session moderator Mr. Sainey Camara, Acting Executive Director of the Gambia Federation of the Disabled (GFD) underscored the importance of capacity building, rehabilitation, and inclusion as central pillars of the Act’s implementation. He highlighted that education and economic empowerment remain major challenges, with only about three percent of persons with disabilities completing primary and secondary education.
He announced that a national disability survey—the first since 1998—will be conducted in 2026 with funding from the World Bank, to provide updated data for planning and policy interventions.
He further explained the four pillars of rehabilitation: such as economic empowerment, through employment and skills training; Personal independence, enabling persons with disabilities to care for themselves; Provision of assistive devices and appliances, such as crutches, hearing aids, and prosthetics; and Social inclusion, ensuring that persons with disabilities are fully involved in all levels of national development.
He emphasised that accessibility to infrastructure, communication, and services remains a key challenge but is crucial to achieving a just and inclusive society in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) principle of “Leave No One Behind.”
Meanwhile simikar event was held Friday, 14 November 2025 at the Saama Kairo Federation Hall in Brijama Kabafita, West Coast Region. The sensitisation team are expected to conduct similar activies in other regions in the provincial areas of The Gambia starting next Monday, 16 November
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