By: Sering Mass Jallow
The Network Against Gender-Based Violence (NGBV) has launched a regional ambassador caravan aimed at tackling the persistent problem of gender-based violence across the West Coast Region.
This was done through its Regional Ambassadors in Brikama and in partnership with the Gambia Bureau of Statistics (GBOS), with support from the World Bank.
The initiative seeks to expand public awareness, strengthen community engagement, and promote collaboration in confronting GBV and related abuses.
At the stakeholders’ engagement held on Monday, 24th November 2025, at the Governor’s Office in Brikama, Hamady Sowe, Regional AIDS Coordinator at the West Coast Region, delivered strong remarks urging families and communities to assume greater responsibility in addressing GBV.
Sowe noted that many perpetrators are often protected by their own relatives, enabling a culture of silence that fuels continued abuse. “The problem of gender-based violence is us as a people,” he said. “We must break the culture of silence and leniency when such sensitive and evil practices surface in our society.”
Babucarr Mbye, NGBV Project Coordinator under the WAKA Project, emphasized the importance of multi-stakeholder involvement in combating GBV. He said partners play a crucial role in strengthening the organization’s accountability mechanisms and amplifying advocacy efforts. “The involvement of stakeholders in this caravan is paramount to us as an organization. They help hold us accountable and amplify our collective voices,” he stated.
