Research on Africa’s monetary history has tended to focus on the imposition of colonial currencies while neglecting the monetary upheavals which faced the colonial powers after the collapse of the gold standard during World War I. Gardner profiles three crises—in The Gambia, Kenya, and Liberia—resulting from shifting exchange rates between European currencies during the 1920s and 1930s. These three cases illustrate the degree to which colonial policies struggled to keep up with the economic turmoil affecting metropolitan states and bring Africa into the story of global monetary instability during the interwar period, which is often told only from a European perspective.

Traditional communicators known as kanyeleng have increasingly taken on roles in climate change adaptation in The Gambia. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted from 2018 to 2019, McConnell and Jallow show that kanyeleng performers contribute to disseminating information about climate change adaptation while also creating the social conditions necessary for citizens to hear and respond effectively to that information. Understandings of climate change in The Gambia intersect with broader concerns about loss of traditional and religious values. Through their performances, kanyeleng work as mediators to resolve tensions associated with climate change adaptation and integrate Indigenous environmental knowledge and climate science.

This paper concerns mental health services in The Gambia. It describes local concepts, experiences and knowledge about mental illness and the implications of such beliefs and attitudes for access to mental health services. A pretested questionnaire and interview guide were administered to a sample of patients/family members. Barriers to accessing mental health services were identified. These included beliefs about the causes of mental illness; family decision-making; the scarcity and high cost of services. Obtaining access to mental health services in The Gambia is currently challenging. Importantly, increased community and family education about the causes and treatment of mental illnesses will be required to address these issues.

This article examines the upsurge in denunciations of ‘tribalism’ in public debate during The Gambia's transition from the autocracy of Yahya Jammeh to the ‘New Gambia’ under President Adama Barrow. In these public debates, derogatory statements about particular ethnicities articulate fears of present or future alliances to monopolise political power. These fears are disproportionate to attempts of organised political mobilisation on ethnic grounds, which remain marginal. It is argued that accusatory politics are a salient, and neglected, feature of ethnic dynamics in contemporary Gambian – and African – politics. This politics of accusation involves the contestation and negotiation of moral legitimacy in the political sphere, in a manner challenging the separation of the moral and the political undergirding scholarly distinctions between ethnicity and tribalism.

Bio-Detection Dogs (BDDs) are used in some high-income countries as a diagnostic intervention, yet little is known about their potential in low/middle-income countries with limited diagnostic resources. This exploratory study investigated the opportunities and implications of deploying BDDs as a mobile diagnostic intervention to identify people with asymptomatic malaria, particularly at ports of entry, as an important step to malaria elimination in a population. A qualitative study design consisting of participant observation, five focus group discussions and informal conversations was employed in The Gambia in April–May 2017. A disciplined German Shepherd companion dog (not trained as a BDD) was introduced to research participants and their perceptions recorded. Field-notes and discussions were transcribed, translated and analysed thematically. Most research participants viewed positively the possibility of using BDDs to detect malaria, with the major advantage of being non-invasive. Some concerns, however, were raised regarding safety and efficacy, as well as cultural issues around the place of dogs within human society. The Gambia is a rabies-endemic country, and unfamiliar dogs are not usually approached, with implications for how research participants perceived BDDs. Understanding such concerns and working with local people to address such issues must be part of any successful strategy to deploy BDDs in new settings. Bio-Detection Dogs represent a potentially non-invasive diagnostic tool for the detection of asymptomatic or chronic malaria infections, particularly in areas with very low parasite rates. However, it is important to understand local concerns and work closely with communities to address those concerns. Wider deployment of BDDs will also require careful planning and sustained financial support.

In areas with less favourable conditions for agriculture, informal seed systems permit gene flow through pollen to play a crucial role in the development of new varieties. An important factor with great impact on cross-pollination is the plant breeding system, but so far this is little studied within the context of low-input farming systems. This research studied the chances of cross-pollination within and between rice fields in The Gambia. Size and time of flowering were measured for 28 rice fields in one village. The level of mixture was measured in 90 seed lots of rice collected from four villages. Based on the results, we suggest that in general cross-pollination between different rice genotypes occurs more often within fields than between fields. No clear relationship was found between the level of within-field mixture and socio-economic status of farmers. Some comparison was made with millet, which allowed the identification of various factors influencing pollen flow between different genotypes. Effective pollen flow (between genotypes) is a function of a number of factors, such as the rate of cross-pollination of a crop, number of off-types within fields, variety distinctiveness, farmer expert knowledge, length and reliability of the rainy season, growth duration of different varieties, availability of fields, pest pressure and number of varieties grown per field or per farmer. We hypothesize that a low cross-pollination rate is more favourable for the development of new varieties in farmer fields than a high cross-pollination rate.

Early childhood growth retardation persists in developing countries despite decades of nutritional interventions. Adequate food is necessary, but not sufficient, to ensure normal growth where there is ubiquitous exposure to infection. Pathways associated with infection, small intestinal mucosal damage and chronic immunostimulation remain largely undemonstrated in countries other than The Gambia. We conducted a longitudinal study of one squatter and one middle-class group (n 86, 3–18 month olds) to assess these relationships in Nepal. Growth, mucosal damage index (MDI; urinary lactose:creatinine ratio adjusted for body weight), morbidity reports, and blood concentrations of albumin, α-1-acid glycoprotein, IgG and Hb, were recorded monthly. Growth status worsened dramatically from 6 to 18 months, with squatters more stunted (height-for-age Z-score (HAZ), P < 0·001) and underweight (weight-for-age Z-score (WAZ), P = 0·009) than middle class. IgG increased with age, was elevated in squatter children, and negatively related to WAZ (P = 0·034). MDI showed significant negative associations with growth performance, explaining 9 and 19 % of height and weight deficits (ΔHAZ, P = 0·004; ΔWAZ, P < 0·001). Unexpectedly, these associations were weaker in squatter children, namely in the group which showed poorer growth, elevated morbidity, greater pathogen exposure (IgG) and higher MDI (P < 0·001). In Nepal, as in The Gambia, children exhibit poor growth, mucosal damage and immunostimulation. The relative impact of pathways associated with infection and undernutrition may, however, differ across socio-economic groups: in poorer children, the impact of mucosal damage and immunostimulation could be masked by nutritional constraints. This has important implications for public health interventions.

This paper reports the first systematic survey of the marine turtles of the 80 km of Gambian coastline, and brings together new data and all past records and reports of marine turtles in The Gambia. Green turtles Chelonia mydas are the most abundant turtles and this is the only species so far observed nesting in The Gambia, with peak nesting between August and October. Although 75% (60 km) of The Gambian coastline appears to be suitable for turtle nesting, most nesting activity is confined to the southern coastline. Offshore foraging habitat is apparently extensive. Strandings of green turtles, olive ridley turtles Lepidochelys olivacea, leatherback turtles Dermochelys coriacea and hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata have been recorded, but we were unable to find evidence for loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta. Threats are mainly of human origin, and include illegal harvesting of eggs, juveniles and adults, as well as mortality as fisheries bycatch, including trawling. One stranded green turtle apparently had fibropapilloma disease. The major threat to nesting habitats is erosion and unregulated development of the coast for tourism. Marine turtles are fully protected under Gambian law. Other national efforts to conserve turtles in The Gambia are described and assessed.

Small bowel enteropathy (assessed by the lactulose (L): mannitol (M) permeability test) is a major factor in infant growth faltering and malnutrition in The Gambia. However, little is known about its persistence and nutritional effect beyond 2 years of age. This was addressed by two cross-sectional studies of intestinal permeability and nutritional status in 162 residents, aged 2–60 years, living in three villages in rural Gambia. L:M ratio was found to be highest in the youngest children and although there was a significant improvement with age (P<0·0001), values were always greater than the range found in UK counterparts. M recovery (mean value 5·68 (SE 0·12)%) was at all times between one-third and one-half of expected UK values and showed no improvement with age. Gut barrier function, assessed by L uptake, improved with age (P<0·001) and fell within the UK normal range beyond age 10 years. Both the L:M permeability ratio and L recovery were significantly associated with height-for-age z-scores (r−0·31 and −0·22 respectively, P<0·001), a relationship that persisted throughout childhood and into adulthood. Change in height-for-age z-score beween the two visits was also related to the L:M ratio (r−0·24, P=0·018). The close within-subject correlation of permeability variabilities between the two visits suggests a long-term persistence of enteropathy within individuals. It appears that the small bowel enteropathy previously described in Gambian infants persists through to adulthood. Although the lesion improves with age, the relationship between attained height and L:M permeability raises the possibility that enteropathy may continue to limit growth throughout childhood and puberty.

Artemisinin (QHS) and its derivatives are new antimalarials which are effective against Plasmodium falciparum parasites resistant to chloroquine (CQ). As these drugs are introduced it is imperative that resistance is monitored. In this paper we demonstrate that the inoculum size used in in vitro testing influences the measured in vitro susceptibility to QHS and its derivative dihydroartemisinin (DHA) and to mefloquine (MEF) and CQ over the range of parasitaemias routinely used in testing with the WHO in vitro microtest. An increase in parasitaemia and/or haematocrit was accompanied by a decrease in the measured sensitivity of 2 laboratory lines. In the context of a field study testing in vitro susceptibility of parasite isolates from patients with uncomplicated malaria in Fajara, The Gambia we demonstrate that failure to control for inoculum size significantly overestimates the level of resistance to QHS and DHA as well as MEF, halofantrine (HAL) and quinine (QUIN). When controlling for the inoculum effect, cross-resistance was observed between QHS, MEF and HAL suggesting the presence of a multidrug resistance-like mechanism. These studies underline the importance of inoculum size in in vitro susceptibility testing.

The various agricultural ecosystems in The Gambia are described in brief, and the richness of flora and fauna discussed. Indiscriminate cutting of trees without replanting, bush fires and mechanization of commercial crops have so far been much more destructive to the environment than has chemical control.

In the future one may expect more chemical control to be used in commercial crops, but probably not in subsistence cultures. With more commercial enterprises and less government participation, risks for the environment will probably increase.

The CILSS Integrated Pest Management Project (1983–1987) showed that it is possible to reduce yield losses without endangering the environment. IPM approaches can improve the methods of cultural and traditional control in subsistence cultures, and keep chemical control at a low level in commercial crops. Introduction of varieties which are tolerant or resistant to the most important pests, and biological control agents can be used for a number of crops. The system of surveillance, which was introduced for a number of pests by the CILSS project, should serve as a permanent basis for all control activities.