About Us
Our work is designed to provide long term improvements in healthcare in The Gambia. Some of this is by providing financial assistance for training , staff and equipment. Some of it is by recruiting and funding people from the UK and Europe to go and live and work in The Gambia, allowing them to transfer their skills to the people working there.
Some of our work focuses on 'obvious' problems, such as malnutrition, malaria and other illnesses. Other areas of our work aim to help strengthen the structure of the hospital by providing people with the management and financial skills they need to run a large hospital effectively.
Our Structure
Our work is based primarily around a set of programmes (medium to long term) and projects (short to medium term). Projects and programmes are suggested by staff in The Gambia and overseas, and are discussed at our stakeholder meetings, representing interests from The Gambia and abroad. Once we have decided to fund an area of work, we would normally plan to commit to it for a minimum of two years, and normally longer.
Project sponsors at the hospital are expected to provide a clear set of objectives and costings that can be tracked over the lifetime of the project. Quarterly reports must be submitted by each project to ensure that their funding is continued.
Where we work
Our work is primarily based at the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital in the capital, Banjul. This is the only sizable hospital in the country, and is the focus for training both nurses and doctors at a national level. It also provides healthcare for the local population and referral services for the entire country.
All our stakeholders have worked at the hospital for at least one year, and some for many more, in a variety of roles, many of them through VSO. As a result, we have a very good understanding of the challenges and opportunities at RVTH, and some of what can be done to help Gambians improve them.
We have also had experience of where previous work has had less impact than would have been hoped for. From this we have learnt a series of lessons that have been incorporated into our project management structure.
What we do
Please see our projects page.
Your Help
You can help by making a donation.
If you are interested in helping in other ways - technical assistance, or working in The Gambia, please contact us.
Our Trustees
Ben Sheahan: Ben is a UK-qualified Chartered Accountant who worked in the Accounts Department at RVTH in 2001 and 2002. He set up a computerised accounting system and ran training courses to ensure its successful use. He worked with the Chief Executive to attract World Health Organisation funding to help with the transition to a teaching hospital. Ben currently works in Iringa, Tanzania as Senior Finance Manager for a health education NGO.
George Fowlis: George is a Gambian Consultant Urological Surgeon in London and an honorary Consultant in the department of Surgery at RVTH. He frequently goes to work there with colleagues from the UK so he understands the needs and problems of the hospital. George is also a member of the overseas committee of the British Association of Urological Surgeons and president of the section of Ethnic Minority Health at the Royal Society of Medicine
Tim Conduit: Tim worked at RVTH in 2004 and 2005 as a Development Adviser, alongside the management team, helping RVTH to fundraise and to try to make the most of what little it has. Tim is now a solicitor in London and is both a Trustee and Secretary of HTG.
Matt Williams: Matt is a UK-trained doctor who spent a year in The Gambia as Acting Head of Accident & Emergency, and also started the country's first oncology clinic. He is now a Clinical Oncology Registrar in London, and is responsible for the clinical projects run by HTG.
UK Registered Charity No 1107983. Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered Number (England and Wales) 5180614.
Registered Office: The Meridian, 4 Copthall House, Station Square, Coventry CV1 2FL, UK