Africa-Press – Gambia. The Gambian delegation has participated in the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development held from July 21st to 24th, 2025, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The delegation presented The Gambia’s Voluntary National Review (VNR) reports, highlighting the country’s progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Gambia was among 39 countries presenting at the forum, which brought together government representatives, UN officials, academics, and civil society stakeholders.
The delegation was led by Hon. Seedy Keita, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, and included Hon. Dr. Ahmad Lamin Samateh, Minister of Health; Hon. Fatou Kinteh, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Welfare; and Permanent Secretary Illo Jallow of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare.
On Tuesday, July 22nd, Hon. Kinteh participated in a high-level roundtable discussion on “Demographic Dimensions of Gender Equality and Health: Synergies for Sustainable Development,” co-hosted by UNFPA, the Dominican Republic, Kazakhstan, Finland, The Gambia, WHO, and UNICEF.
During the session, The Gambia was congratulated on launching the Sahel Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend Plus (SWEDD+) initiative, aimed at transforming the lives of adolescent girls and young women.
Minister Kinteh noted that women constitute 52% of the population, with youth especially adolescent girls making up over 60%. She emphasized the urgent need to address issues such as illiteracy, early marriage, harmful traditional practices, and poverty.
“The Gambia is one of the beneficiary countries of the SWEDD+ project. Thanks and appreciation to the World Bank for the support,” she stated.
The project promotes birth and marriage registration to delay early marriage, enabling girls to complete high school and pursue vocational or university education. Through safe spaces, 52,000 adolescent girls will receive sexual and reproductive health education and livelihood training.
Hon. Kinteh added that the SWEDD+ school re-entry programme supports girls who drop out of school while others aged 15–24 will receive entrepreneurship training and micro-grants to run businesses of their choice.
She said economic empowerment would be used as a strategy to reduce maternal and infant mortality. A comprehensive gender-based violence programme and a social behaviour change communication strategy are also in development.
Kinteh affirmed that SWEDD+ complements The Gambia’s National Development Plan (2023–2027) and supports SDGs 3 (Health), 5 (Gender Equality), and 17 (Partnerships). Ministries involved in implementation include Gender, Health, Youth and Sports, Justice, and Finance.
She acknowledged ongoing challenges, including high maternal mortality (289 per 100,000 live births), limited cancer care, resource constraints, medical staff attrition, and socio-cultural barriers. For SDG 5, she highlighted issues such as high female illiteracy, poverty, gender-based violence, limited land rights, and underrepresentation in decision-making roles.
Despite these challenges, she reaffirmed The Gambia’s commitment to overcoming them through innovative strategies, with the SWEDD+ project playing a crucial supporting role.
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