The Country Profile

The Gambia is situated in the western part of Africa and is surrounded by Senegal in the North, East and South except for the Atlantic coast. The Gambia is a third world country and one of the poorest in the world. It has a total land area of  10,698 square kilometers, varying in width between 42km near the mouth of the river to 24km further upstream and stretching for about 480km in length.

There are five administrative regions: Central River Region (CRR), Lower River Region (LRR), North Bank Region (NRR), Western Region (WR), Upper River Region (URR), all of which are rural, headed by  Governors. There are two municipalities: Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) and Banjul City Council (BCC) which are urban. Each of them is headed by a Lord Mayor.

Subsequently, each local government area is divided into districts and headed by a chief. There are 45 districts in The Gambia which are further divided  into Wards comprising of cluster villages. Each village is headed by an Alkalo (Village head).

Within the framework of decentralization, CRR is further divided into North and South which created eight local government administrative area in the country.  Each of  these divisions is headed by either an elected Lord Mayor or Chairperson assisted by elected Ward Area Councilors. These Ward Councilors represent their people at District/Constituency and at Council level and are charged with the responsibility of assisting in the day to day functioning of their respective LGAs.  The structures within the councils conform to the Administrative principles of the Local Government Act.

The Commisioners and Chairpersons of Area Councils coordinate development activities including financial management. The office of the chairman of council and CEO, head the overall administration while the Director of Finance heads the finance unit. Area council staff are supposed to be supervised by the Local Government Service  Commissions (LGSC) , though fully functional. They are currently being supervised by the Department of State for Local Government and Lands.

Multi Disciplinary Facilitation Team (MDFT) has been established to enhance joint learning and action, which  serves  as the interface between technical (Divisional Extension Agents of Government and NGOs) and communities. In this approach, members of the community and MDFTs decide jointly on an integrated plan of action for effective development activities.

Socio-Economic Indicators

According to the UN Human Development Index ranking  2006, The Gambia was ranked 155 out of 177 countries within a Gross  Domestic Product (GDP) of US $360 (2003).

The 2003 census report indicates that the population of The Gambia stands at 1.3 Million with 51%  women- the majority of whom are rural based. Occupation is mostly agricultural, which is mostly physically intensive due to lack of labour saving devices or appropriate technologies for production, preservation and marketing.

Achievements and Challenges

Despite the challenges, some achievements have been registered over the period. In the area of women participation in decision making, both the Vice President and Speaker of the National Assembly are women. Women have over the years occupied ministerial positions, being appointed as Director General,  Secretary General, Head of Civil Service and Directors. In the Private sector, women are competing favourably, irrespective of the fact that the number is limited.

Also, in the education sector, girls enrolment has improved, parity at basic level has been achieved and performance in tertiary level has also improved. Nonetheless, alot needs to be done in terms of number, survival and quality. Maternal and child mortality has reduced; but the number is still high. Women's access to clean drinking water has increased appreciablyl but water for cultivation remains a challenge.

Socio-Cultural

Due to the patriarchal nature of The Gambia Society, there is a strong gender division of labour, rules and responsibilities between women and men. Women are assumed to be only suitable for their reproductive and community roles while men are recognised for their public and development roles. The boy child is still given preference over the girl child in education and training; despite the several interventions. Thus, creating gender gaps in enrolment, participation, retention and quality education, which reduce their prospects and life chances.

Productive Sectors and Livelihood:

Women comprise about 70% of Agricultural Labour force, but their contribution is unskilled, except in few industries. The annual earnings of women in all activities are about 50% of men's earnings in the same industries due to the fact that women occupy low level positions.

However, in terms of earnings for same position both men and women are equal. According to the poverty reduction strategy papers (PRSP), women work as subsistent farmers with no finance, no gain or appropriate technology for their labour. Despite the fact that they produce 80% of the vegetables and 99% of the staple food -rice.

Women dominate the horticultural sector and rice production.Notwithstanding, they receive poor interventions to improve their production, skills or increase their farming inputs and marketing opportunities.

The low quality and quantity of horticultural produce and subsistent food by these women, has a resultant effect. Considering the low supply of their products, establishments like  hotels, supermarkets, restaurants and other major dealers resort to importation.

Women are as well a major contributor to food security in The Gambia, especially in rice production. Most families in the rural areas depend on rice and vegetables produced by women. Therefore, the sector needs to be developed.

Women and children are usually the target, when food aid is supplied by donor agencies to needy communities but their nutritional needs are not met; mainly because supplies are channelled through household heads, who are men.

According to the 1999 womens policy, in the fishery sector, women form 80% of the fish loaders. 99% of the fish processors are women.  Again, they operate at micro level with little or no capital to upgrade their business activities.

Women actively participate in livestock rearing mainly, poultry keeping, sheep fattening and dominate the informal sector and  form the majority of the unskilled labour force.

In tourism industry, women are engaged in producing  and selling handcrafts, as well as supply of fresh food, fish and other semi processed items to hotels. Women operate at micro level with inadequate capital to upgrade their business activities.

Also, few women get involved in the import and export trade, handling items such as tie and dye, fashion products,  textiles, jewelries, fish and horticultural exports with limited or inadequate capital and external markert opportunities.

In 2005, women formed co-operative union for groundnut purchases but they could not continue in 2006 due to lack of neccessary skills.

In the formal sector, women have low representation: occupying 13.9% of the professional and technical jobs, 12.8% of the managerial positions, 26.3% of the electrical, 9.4% of the skilled labour but 61.9% of the unskilled labour (population data- 1994),  in crafts and other related trades.  

More men are employed than women. The women's petty trading in the informal sector contributes a lot to the household and country's economy, as they are comparatively more able to supplement the feeding, education and clothing of their children.

The annual growth rate of The Gambia poulation is estimated at 2.2% density of 133 persons per square kilometers. The life expectancy at birth is 57 years for women and 55 years for men. This is lower in the rural areas where it is 54.5 years for women and 46.3 years for men.

In 2001, vital statistics report infant mortality was 84 per 1000 live birth and for those under 5 years of age it was 135 per 1000. Maternal mortality rate stood at 730 per 100,000 live birth.

As for education, the adult literacy rate is about 25.6%. The primary enrolment ratio for girls is 73% , 49% for lower basic, 46% for upper basic and 37% for secondary according to 2002/3 record. Gender parity is acheived in  lower basic and not in secondary and tertiary.