By Isatou Sarr
The Gambia Immigration Department (GID) has called on relevant government ministries and stakeholders to do more towards better protecting vulnerable children.
The department called for the implementation of regulatory and supervisory mechanisms in accordance with the Children’s Act 2005 and other legal instruments.
The call was made in a press release issued by GID on May 26th and came on the heels of joint operation at Daara Medina Suwaneh, a Quranic school located in Brufut Heights, where minors were found in alarming health conditions.
According to Inspector Siman Lowe, GID Public Relations Officer, the intervention followed an encounter between the Director General of Immigration, Ebrima Mboob, and a group of children during a routine workout at Brufut beach.
The minors were said to be showing visible skin rashes, wounds, and signs of infection, prompting further investigation from GID.
GID then mobilised a joint operation involving its Child Welfare and Intelligence Units, alongside the Gambia Police Force’s Child Welfare Unit.
The purpose, according to the release, was to assess the well-being and living conditions of the children. This led to the transportation of sixty-one (61) students, commonly referred to as Talibehs, to the Brusubi Police Station for further processing.
The GID reported that public health officials from Sukuta and Brufut Health Centers were dispatched to inspect the facility. Preliminary assessments conducted on 26th May 2025, led by the Regional Principal Public Health Officer for Western Region 1 and supported by the Program Coordinator of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Unit, confirmed that 57 out of 101 minors were suffering from scabies a contagious skin disease caused by mites.
According to the GID, the affected children included 35 Gambians, 17 Senegalese, and 5 Bissau-Guineans, all residing in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions without adequate medical care.
The GID stated that the matter has now been handed over to public health authorities. It also confirmed that the Director General has since briefed the National Security Adviser, Director of Public Health, Minister of Presidential Affairs, and Senegalese Defence Attaché on immediate remedial actions.
