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Gambia [shutterstock]

The Gambia

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International Travel Information

What you need to know before you go: visas, embassy & consulate locations, vaccinations, etc.

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Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

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The United States Delivers Covid 19 Vaccine Doses To The Gambia 51326910715 O

COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution

Since July 2021, the United States has shared 462,690 safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine doses with the people of The Gambia – free of cost. This includes 160,290 Pfizer and 302,400 J&J doses. Of the 462,690 vaccine doses, 100% were donated in partnership with COVAX.

President Biden committed the United States to be the world’s arsenal for vaccines, leading an international and coordinated vaccination effort, and announced that the United States will provide 1.2 billion doses of safe, effective vaccines – free of cost – to meet global needs and save lives now. The United States is working with other governments, global initiatives including COVAX and the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT), and other partners to get COVID-19 vaccines to where they are needed most.

Learn more about our work Delivering Vaccines and on COVID-19 Recovery.

Highlights

March 13, 2023

Improving Access to Justice in The Gambia Project Launch Event

March 10, 2023

Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Zeya’s Travel to The Gambia and Senegal March 12-14, 2023

February 18, 2023

The Gambia National Day

February 3, 2023

Banjul, The Gambia: Banjul American International School: 2022-2023 Fact Sheet

Nuclear – IAEA Statute – Notification of Deposit of Instrument; The Gambia January 3, 2023

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Democracy Human Rights Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Office of the Spokesperson Senegal
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U.S. Relationship

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U.S.-The Gambia Relations

During World War II, Gambian troops fought with the Allies in Burma. The Gambia’s capital city served as an air stop for the U.S. Army Air Corps and a port of call for Allied naval convoys. The Gambia became independent from the United Kingdom in 1965. In January 2017, Adama Barrow was sworn in as president, as head of a coalition of opposition parties that defeated Yahya Jammeh in elections held on December 1, 2016. Jammeh had initially taken power in a military coup d’état in 1994. The United States strongly supports the Government of The Gambia in its efforts to strengthen democratic institutions and improve governance, implement significant economic reforms, account for financial crimes and gross violations of human rights during the Jammeh era, and focus on economic growth.

U.S. Assistance to The Gambia

U.S. assistance supports democracy, combatting trafficking in persons, fiscal transparency, capacity building, electoral reform, security, human rights, education, media freedom, agricultural expansion, rural development, refugee support services, and the fight against HIV/AIDS. In addition, the Peace Corps maintains a large program with about 140 volunteers engaged in the environment/agriculture, public health, and education sectors, mainly at the village level. The United States also provides limited military training assistance to The Gambia in line with Gambian Security Sector Reform efforts.

Bilateral Economic Relations

In December 2017, the reinstatement of The Gambia’s eligibility for preferential trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was approved, effective January 1, 2018. After being selected by the Millennium Challenge Corporation to develop a threshold program in 2017, program development was paused in 2019 when The Gambia was downgraded to Tier 3 on the annual U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report. A number of U.S. citizens have set up small businesses in The Gambia and several U.S. brand companies such as Western Union, MoneyGram, UPS, and FedEx are represented in the country.

The Gambia flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue with white edges, and green; red stands for the sun and the savannah, blue represents the Gambia River, and green symbolizes forests and agriculture; the white stripes denote unity and peace [CIA World Fact Book]

Additional Resources

U.S. Department of State

External Resources

U.S. Department of State

The Lessons of 1989: Freedom and Our Future