May I take this opportunity to write expressing some relevant observations, based on recent experience. Since 2000, I have moved through different areas of Gambian life, from Trade to Sport and more recently Medical experience. Like many other viewers, I have been dismayed by the endless procession in the Gambian media of people and more especially children in dire need of overseas medical attention. It is heartening to know that most illnesses can be treated these days as science advances.  Sadly, in The Gambia as in many parts of Africa, their is often no way out, to access the latest cures and treatments prevalent in the West. Thousands of citizens are often condemned to a life of great disadvantage and in many cases this can result in a miserable death. The scale of the problem has become all too apparent to me recently. Whilst I acknowledge, the great advances The Gambia has made in building hospitals and day care centers. These are largely negated by the lack of trained clinicians and specialists in many areas of healthcare.

The prime causation, is training and qualification.After,interrogating the honourable Professors of Medicine in the U.K. The universal opinion is that Africans coming to the U.K. for treatment are faced with considerable obstacles and incredible financial burdens, to gain visa's and afford transport, then pay the going rate for private treatment in The U.K.Some of the premium rates for even minor treatment or operations are at a staggering cost as is represented by the different cost centers and disparage of different Nation States outside the U.K. It therefore becomes apparent. that the best way to cure this problem is to send doctors to the West for training in preference to sending individuals thousands of miles to afford the expensive treatments available. This is just not. cost effective.

I must confess to having little knowledge of just how The World Health Organization works or what it is doing to address this problem? Their are certainly hundreds of medical franchises evident in Africa, but they primarily concentrate into areas of expertise usually providing 'multinational " doctors at the sharp end. But seem to do little in respect of training the local health careers through to prime resource and certificate qualification of the donor clinician. This is not their vocation.

The Gambia has an opportunity here to create a medical training centre ... and I appreciate the value of the work of the outgoing Vice Chancellor of The University of The Gambia. He has laid the foundation of such an opportunity. As with so many different developments started in The Gambia by the APRC government, this particular opportunity to have a teaching hospital located in The Gambia would create a highly profitable cost centre for West Africa if the funding could be outsourced to establish this. It has excellent access through its International Airport and its ultra modern docks facility. I acknowledge The Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital in Banjul as a prime location to incorporate and expand its present facilities in this respect.

Human capacity building is an area that figures prominently in all the current programmes promoted by The UNDP and the WHO. May I recommend that they reconsider their future approach to address the problem highlighted here in good faith.

 I remain Michael..U.K.