ECOWAS supports the construction of first specialised drug treatment and rehabilitation centre in The Gambia

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, through its Department of Human Development and Social Affairs, is constructing a National Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre in Banjul, The Gambia. As part of the project’s next phase, the Commission conducted a supervisory assessment and evaluation mission on October 15, 2025, on the margins of the launch of the 2024 West African Epidemiology Network on Drug Use (WENDU) Report, to review progress and identify additional needs for further support.

Guided by findings from regional surveys and in response to the growing need for treatment services for people who use drugs (PWUDs), the ECOWAS Commission in 2019 launched a project to support Member States in improving access to drug treatment and rehabilitation services.

The overall objective of ECOWAS’s support for substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation facilities is to establish a structured and comprehensive framework for managing drug-related health, social, and psychological challenges. This initiative seeks to expand access to quality treatment services and strengthen the personal and social reintegration of people who use drugs (PWUDs) and those living with substance use disorders (SUDs).

The assessment mission, led by H.E. Miatta Lily French, ECOWAS Resident Representative in The Gambia, and Dr. Sintiki Tarfa Ugbe, Director of Humanitarian and Social Affairs at the ECOWAS Commission, in collaboration with officials from the Ministry of Health and the Drug Law Enforcement Agency of The Gambia (DLEAG), visited the construction site of the National Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre to evaluate progress and identify areas requiring additional support.