120-595: Farafenni or Farafegni is a town in the Gambia , lying on the Trans-Gambia Highway in the North Bank Division , just south of the border with Senegal . It is an important market town . The population of Farafenni is around 25,000 and the main local language is Wolof , although Mandinka , Fula and other languages are also fairly common. Farafenni is the site of a recently built hospital and also contains
240-518: A British Crown colony called British Gambia , divided for administrative purposes into the colony (city of Banjul and the surrounding area) and the protectorate (remainder of the territory). The Gambia received its own executive and legislative councils in 1901, and it gradually progressed toward self-government. Slavery was abolished in 1906 and following a brief conflict between the British colonial forces and indigenous Gambians, British colonial authority
360-554: A Republic within the Commonwealth , following a second referendum . Prime Minister Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara assumed the office of President , an Executive Post , combining the offices of head of state and head of government which he held since 1962. President Sir Dawda Jawara was re-elected five times. An attempted coup on 29 July 1981 followed a weakening of the economy and allegations of corruption against leading politicians. The coup attempt occurred while President Jawara
480-455: A 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 4.56/10, ranking it 120th globally out of 172 countries. The Gambia has a tropical savannah climate . A short rainy season normally lasts from June until September, but from then until May, lower temperatures predominate, with less precipitation . The climate in The Gambia closely resembles that of neighboring Senegal, of Mali , and of
600-504: A Serer elder dies). Upon independence in 1965, the country used the name The Gambia . Following the proclamation of a republic in 1970, the long-form name of the country became Republic of The Gambia . The administration of Yahya Jammeh changed the long-form name to Islamic Republic of The Gambia in December 2015. On 29 January 2017 newly elected President Adama Barrow changed the name back to Republic of The Gambia . The Gambia
720-509: A basic education. The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), based on the Alkire - Foster Method, is published by the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI): it measures deprivation in basic needs and can be broken down to reflect both the incidence and the intensity of poverty. For example, under conventional measures, in both Ethiopia and Uzbekistan about 40% of the population
840-690: A coalition of opposition parties. According to the 2023 V-Dem Democracy Indices The Gambia is ranked 68th of 179 nations worldwide and the 11th of 56 in Africa . During the Jawara era, there were initially four political parties, the PPP, the United Party (UP), the Democratic Party (DP), and I.M. Garba-Jahumpa 's Muslim Congress Party (MCP). The 1960 constitution had established a House of Representatives , and in
960-674: A coalition with the Democratic Congress Alliance (DCA; a merger of the DP and MCP). They invited the UP to the coalition in 1963, but it left in 1965. The UP was seen as the main opposition party, but it lost power from 1965 to 1970. In 1975, the National Convention Party (NCP) was formed by Sheriff Mustapha Dibba , and became the new main opposition party to the PPP's dominance. Both the PPP and NCP were ideologically similar, so in
1080-434: A colony in 1765. In 1965, 200 years later, The Gambia gained independence under the leadership of Dawda Jawara . Yahya Jammeh seized power in a bloodless 1994 coup . Adama Barrow was elected as The Gambia's third president in the December 2016, he defeated Yahya Jammeh with the help of a coalition of other opposition political parties. Jammeh initially accepted the results, but then refused to leave office claiming he
1200-431: A country that experienced major violence during 1981–2005 had extreme poverty rates 21 percentage points higher than a country with no violence. On average, each civil conflict will cost a country roughly 30 years of GDP growth. Therefore, a renewed commitment from the international community to address the deteriorating situation in highly fragile states is necessary to both prevent the mass loss of life, but to also prevent
1320-515: A departure from the views of other organizations, the commission also proposed that the UN focus not only on extreme poverty (a line drawn at $ 1.25), but also on a higher target, such as $ 2. The report notes this change could be made to reflect the fact that escaping extreme poverty is only a first step. In addition to the UN, a host of other supranational and national actors such as the European Union and
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#17328589269431440-426: A dusk-to-dawn curfew on the populace. A transition back to democracy occurred in 1996, and a new constitution was written, though the process was manipulated to benefit Jammeh. In a 1996 referendum, 70% of voters approved the constitution, and in December 1996, Jammeh was elected as president. All but PDOIS of the pre-coup parties were banned, and former ministers were barred from public office. During Jammeh's rule,
1560-487: A full cycle of presidential , legislative , and local elections, which foreign observers deemed free, fair, and transparent. President Yahya Jammeh, who was elected to continue in the position he had assumed during the coup, took the oath of office again on 21 December 2001. Jammeh's Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) maintained its strong majority in the National Assembly, particularly after
1680-645: A greater emphasis on evidence based decision-making, and through leveraging the ingenuity of the private sector and global citizens. A major initiative of the Obama administration is Power Africa, which aims to bring energy to 20 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa. By reaching out to its international partners, whether commercial or public, the US has leveraged over $ 14 billion in outside commitments after investing only US$ 7 billion of its own. To ensure that Power Africa reaches
1800-424: A low level of growth. Recent World Bank research shows that some countries can get caught in a "fragility trap", in which self-reinforcing factors prevent the poorest nations from emerging from low-level equilibrium in the long run. Moreover, most of the reduction in extreme poverty over the past twenty years has taken place in countries that have not experienced a civil conflict or have had governing institutions with
1920-554: A military base which was attacked in 1995 by six men later claiming to be Sanyang 's collaborators. It is sometimes called Chakubanta or Faracity. There is only one senior secondary school, called: Farafenni Senior Secondary School; two junior Secondary: Farafenni Junior Secondary School, and Anglican Junior Secondary School. Both located in the Outskirts of the town; and two primary Schools, namely: Farafenni Lower Basic School, and Mauritani Lower Basic School. Farafenni Upper Basic School
2040-401: A party to any institution that represents an extension of colonialism". On 11 December 2015, President Jammeh (without any legal authority) unilaterally declared The Gambia an Islamic Republic , calling it a break from the country's colonial past, although the constitution remains secular constitution. The months leading up to the 2016 presidential election were tense. The youth leader of
2160-579: A population of 2,769,075 people in 2024 which is a 2.30% population increase from 2013. The capital city is Banjul , which has the most extensive metropolitan area in the country. The second and third-largest cities are Serekunda and Brikama . Arab Muslim merchants traded with native West Africans in The Gambia throughout the 9th and 10th centuries. In 1455, the Portuguese were the first Europeans to enter The Gambia, although they never established significant trade there. The British Empire established
2280-575: A prominent finding in a report by the World Bank was that extreme poverty is most prevalent in low-income countries. In these countries, the World Bank found that progress in poverty reduction is the slowest, the poor live under the worst conditions, and the most affected persons are children age 12 and under. In September 2000, world leaders gathered at the Millennium Summit held in New York, launching
2400-537: A referendum on a revised Constitution, the elections for President and the National Assembly by early January 1997. In 1997 the Independent Electoral Commission - IEC- The Gambia was established to replace the PIEC, responsible for the registration of voters and for the conduct of elections and referendums. The IEC organized the next 5-year elections for late 2001 and early 2002, and The Gambia completed
2520-513: A result of under-nutrition among the poorest nations. To combat undernutrition, the WBG has partnered with UNICEF and the WHO to ensure all small children are fully fed. The WBG also offers conditional cash transfers to poor households who meet certain requirements such as maintaining children's healthcare or ensuring school attendance. Finally, the WBG understands investment in public transportation and better roads
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#17328589269432640-507: A series of summits organized by the UN to promote the substantial and even development of the world's least developed countries. In 2013, the Board of Governors of the World Bank Group (WBG) set two overriding goals for the WBG to commit itself to in the future. First, to end extreme poverty by 2030, an objective that echoes the sentiments of the UN and the Obama administration. Additionally,
2760-437: A significant proportion of the eight million people receiving treatment in relatively poor nations. In terms of general health assistance, USAID has worked to reduce maternal mortality by 30%, under-five child mortality by 35%, and has accomplished a host of other goals. USAID also supports the gamut of democratic initiatives, from promoting human rights and accountable, fair governance, to supporting free and fair elections and
2880-523: A solid architecture for the international community to work through. The United Nation's Children's Fund ( UNICEF ) was created by the UN to provide food, clothing and healthcare to European children facing famine and disease in the immediate aftermath of World War II. After the UN General Assembly extended UNICEF's mandate indefinitely in 1953, it actively worked to help children in extreme poverty in more than 190 countries and territories to overcome
3000-450: A strong capacity to actually govern. Thus, to end extreme poverty, it is also important to focus on the interrelated problems of fragility and conflict. USAID defines fragility as a government's lack of both legitimacy (the perception the government is adequate at doing its job) and effectiveness (how good the government is at maintaining law and order, in an equitable manner). As fragile nations are unable to equitably and effectively perform
3120-503: A target that would affect over 1 billion people. Citing the close correlation between economic growth and the reduction of poverty in poor countries, Annan urged international leaders to indiscriminately target the problem of extreme poverty across every region. In charge of managing the project was Jeffrey Sachs, a noted development economist, who in 2005 released a plan for action called "Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve
3240-718: A tiny enclave at Albreda on the river's north bank. This was finally ceded to the United Kingdom in 1856. As many as three million people may have been taken as slaves from this general region during the three centuries that the transatlantic slave trade operated. It is not known how many people were taken as slaves by intertribal wars before the transatlantic slave trade began. Most of those taken were sold by other Africans to Europeans: some were prisoners of intertribal wars; some were victims sold because of unpaid debts, and many others were simply victims of kidnapping. Traders initially sent people to Europe to work as servants until
3360-631: A women's rights activist was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in combating female genital mutilation . On 4 December 2021, Adama Barrow won re-election in the presidential election . On 20 December 2022, a supposed coup attempt by the Gambian army was foiled , with four soldiers arrested. The Gambian Armed Forces have denied that any attempt at a coup was made. Barrow's use of foreign troops for his security and for protection of some infrastructure has hurt his popularity. The Gambia
3480-622: Is a founding member of the ECOWAS. It rejoined the Commonwealth of Nations in 2018 after previously withdrawing in 2013. English is the country's sole official language; it became widely used during British rule. The name "Gambia" is derived from the Mandinka term Kambra / Kambaa , meaning the Gambia River . (It may be derived from the sacred Serer Gamba , a special type of calabash beaten when
3600-407: Is a very small and narrow country whose borders mirror the meandering Gambia River . It lies between latitudes 13 and 14°N , and longitudes 13 and 17°W . The Gambia is less than 50 kilometres (31 miles) wide at its widest point, with a total area of 11,295 km (4,361 sq mi ). About 1,300 square kilometres (500 square miles) (11.5%) of The Gambia's area are covered by water. It
3720-501: Is considered extremely poor, but based on the MPI, 90% of Ethiopians but only 2% of Uzbeks are in multidimensional poverty. The MPI is useful for development officials to determine the most likely causes of poverty within a region, using the M0 measure of the method (which is calculated by multiplying the fraction of people in poverty by the fraction of dimensions they are deprived in). For example, in
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3840-526: Is estimated that the country with the most people living in extreme poverty is Nigeria , at 86 million. In the past, the vast majority of the world population lived in conditions of extreme poverty. The percentage of the global population living in absolute poverty fell from over 80% in 1800 to under 20% by 2015. According to UN estimates, in 2015 roughly 734 million people or 10% remained under those conditions. The number had previously been measured as 1.9 billion in 1990, and 1.2 billion in 2008. Despite
3960-669: Is key to breaking rural isolation, improving access to healthcare and providing better job opportunities for the World's poor. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) works to synchronize the disparate international, national and non-governmental efforts to contest poverty. OCHA seeks to prevent "confusion" in relief operations and to ensure that the humanitarian response to disaster situations has greater accountability and predictability. To do so, OCHA has begun deploying Humanitarian Coordinators and Country Teams to provide
4080-542: Is one of a small number of countries for which the definite article is commonly used in its English-language name and where the name is neither plural nor descriptive (e.g., "the Philippines " or "the United Kingdom "). The article is also officially used by the country's government and by international bodies. The article was originally used because the region was named after "The Gambia [River]". In 1964, shortly prior to
4200-592: Is prolonged and when it severely compromises people's chances of regaining their rights and of reassuming their responsibilities in the foreseeable future. This definition was mentioned previously, in June 1989, in the preliminary report on the realization of economic, social and cultural rights by the UN Special Rapporteur Danilo Türk . It is still in use today, among others, in the current UN Guiding Principles on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights adopted by
4320-518: Is set at 3% in recognition of the fact that some amount of frictional (temporary) poverty will continue to exist, whether it is caused by political conflict or unexpected economic fluctuations, at least for the foreseeable future. However, the Brookings Institution notes that any projection about poverty more than a few years into the future runs the risk of being highly uncertain. This is because changes in consumption and distribution throughout
4440-454: Is sponsored by John Cabot Academy in Bristol , UK . Farafenni is a commercial town, where transactions are carried out in various commercial sectors. It has one big market situated opposite Farafenni Gamtel, and nearby there are shops and a small market on Kerewan Highway. Both markets serve the needs of the inhabitants. There is also a weekly market called lumo . The lumo place is located at
4560-575: Is the smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for the western part, which is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean . Its territory is on both sides of the lower reaches of the Gambia River , which flows through the centre of the country and empties into the Atlantic. The national namesake river demarcates the elongated shape of the country, which has an area of 11,300 square kilometres (4,400 sq mi) and
4680-511: Is the smallest country on the African mainland. In comparative terms, The Gambia has a total area slightly more than that of the island of Jamaica . Senegal surrounds The Gambia on three sides, with 80 km (50 mi) of coastline on the Atlantic Ocean marking its western extremity. The present boundaries were defined in 1889 after an agreement between the United Kingdom and France. During
4800-461: The 1960 election no party won a majority of seats. However, in 1961, the British Governor chose UP leader Pierre Sarr N'Jie to serve as the country's first head of government, in the form of a Chief Minister. This was an unpopular decision, and the 1962 election was notable as parties were able to appeal to ethnic and religious differences across The Gambia. The PPP won a majority, and formed
4920-606: The Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) deposed the Jawara government and banned opposition political activity. Lieutenant Yahya Jammeh , chairman of the AFPRC, became head of state. Jammeh was just 29 years old at the time of the coup. The AFPRC announced a transition plan to return to a democratic civilian government. The Provisional Independent Electoral Commission (PIEC) was established in December 1995 to conduct national elections and it supervised
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5040-681: The British Empire and the French Empire struggled continually for political and commercial supremacy in the regions of the Senegal River and the Gambia River. The British Empire occupied The Gambia when an expedition led by Augustus Keppel landed there following the capture of Senegal in 1758. The 1783 Treaty of Versailles gave Great Britain possession of the Gambia River, but the French retained
5160-638: The Feed the Future Initiative (FtF). FtF aims to reduce poverty and under-nutrition each by 20% over five years. Because of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and a variety of congruent actors, the incidence of AIDS and HIV, which used to ravage Africa, reduced in scope and intensity. Through PEPFAR, the United States has ensured over five million people have received life-saving antiviral drugs,
5280-577: The Gaza Strip of Palestine, using the M0 measure of the Alkire-Foster method reveals that poverty in the region is primarily caused by a lack of access to electricity, lack of access to drinking water, and widespread overcrowding. In contrast, data from the Chhukha District of Bhutan reveals that income is a much larger contributor to poverty as opposed to other dimensions within the region. However,
5400-482: The Governor-General . Shortly thereafter, the national government held a referendum proposing that the country become a republic . This referendum failed to receive the two-thirds majority required to amend the constitution, but the results won widespread attention abroad as testimony to The Gambia's observance of secret balloting, honest elections, civil rights, and liberties. On 24 April 1970, The Gambia became
5520-492: The US Army Air Forces and a port of call for Allied naval convoys. After World War II, the pace of constitutional reform increased. Following general elections in 1962, the United Kingdom granted full internal self-governance in the following year. The Gambia achieved independence on 18 February 1965, as a constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth , with Elizabeth II as Queen of The Gambia , represented by
5640-524: The United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water , sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information . It depends not only on income but also on access to services". Historically, other definitions have been proposed within the United Nations. In 2018, extreme poverty mainly refers to an income below
5760-582: The United Nations Millennium Project suggested by then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan . Prior to the launch of the conference, the office of Secretary-General Annan released a report entitled "We The Peoples: The Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century". In this document, now widely known as the Millennium Report, Kofi Annan called on the international community to reduce the proportion of people in extreme poverty by half by 2015,
5880-577: The international poverty line of $ 1.90 per day (in 2011 prices, $ 2.57 in 2023 dollars), set by the World Bank . In October 2017, the World Bank updated the international poverty line , a global absolute minimum, to $ 1.90 a day. This is the equivalent of $ 1.00 a day in 1996 US prices, hence the widely used expression "living on less than a dollar a day". The vast majority of those in extreme poverty reside in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa . As of 2018, it
6000-572: The 11th or 12th century, the rulers of kingdoms such as Takrur (a monarchy centred on the Senegal River just to the north), ancient Ghana and Gao had converted to Islam. They had appointed to their courts Muslims who were literate in the Arabic language . At the beginning of the 14th century, most of what is today called The Gambia was part of the Mali Empire . The Portuguese reached this area by sea in
6120-419: The 1980s a new opposition party emerged, in the form of the radical socialist People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS). However, between the 1966 and 1992 elections, the PPP was "overwhelmingly dominant", winning between 55% and 70% of the vote in each election and a large majority of seats continually. In principle, competitive politics existed during the Jawara era, however, it
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#17328589269436240-442: The 2016 election before declaring the results void and calling for a new vote, sparking a constitutional crisis and leading to an invasion by an ECOWAS coalition. On 20 January 2017, Jammeh announced that he had agreed to step down and would leave the country. In January 2017, President Barrow removed the "Islamic" title from The Gambia's name. On 14 February 2017, The Gambia began the process of returning to its membership of
6360-522: The African Union have published their own positions or recommendations on what should be incorporated in the Post-2015 agenda. The European Commission's communication, published in A decent Life for all: from vision to collective action, affirmed the UN's commitment to "eradicate extreme poverty in our lifetime and put the world on a sustainable path to ensure a decent life for all by 2030". A unique vision of
6480-459: The Commonwealth and formally presented its application to re-join to Secretary-General Patricia Scotland on 22 January 2018. Boris Johnson , who became the first British foreign secretary to visit The Gambia since the country gained independence in 1965, announced that the British government welcomed The Gambia's return to the Commonwealth. The Gambia officially rejoined the Commonwealth on 8 February 2018. On 28 February 2018, Jaha Dukureh ,
6600-452: The Gambia River, including Fort Jakob, and St. Mary Island (modern day Banjul) and Fort Jillifree – came under the rule of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia , a vassal state of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in what is now Latvia , having been bought by Prince Jacob Kettler . The colonies were formally ceded to England in 1664. During the late 17th century and throughout the 18th century,
6720-522: The Gambia sentenced main opposition leader and human rights advocate Ousainou Darboe to 3 years in prison in July 2016, disqualifying him from running in the presidential election. This gave Adama Barrow to contest under the UDP ticket. Following the 1 December 2016 elections, the elections commission declared Adama Barrow the winner. Jammeh, who had ruled for 22 years, first announced he would step down after losing
6840-448: The MPI only presents data from 105 countries, so it cannot be used for global measurements. Percent of world's extreme poor by region (2017) Using the World Bank definition of $ 1.90/day, as of 2021 , roughly 710 million people remained in extreme poverty (or roughly 1 in 10 people worldwide). Nearly half of them live in India and China, with more than 85% living in just 20 countries. Since
6960-563: The Millennium Development Goals approached in 2015, the UN convened a panel to advise on a Post-2015 Development Agenda , which led to a new set of 17 goals for 2030 titled the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The first goal ( SDG 1 ) is to "End poverty in all its forms everywhere." The HLP report, entitled A New Global Partnership: Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies Through Sustainable Development,
7080-695: The Millennium Development Goals". Thomas Pogge criticized the 2000 Millennium Declaration for being less ambitious than a previous declaration from the World Food Summit due to using 1990 as the benchmark rather than 1996. Overall, there has been significant progress towards reducing extreme poverty, with the MDG1 target of reducing extreme poverty rates by half being met five years early, representing 700 million people being lifted out of extreme poverty from 1990 to 2010, with 1.2 billion people still remaining under those conditions. The notable exception to this trend
7200-542: The Post-2015 Development Agenda, likewise encouraged the international community to focus on eradicating the twin problems of poverty and exclusion in our lifetime. Moreover, the CAP pledged that "no person – regardless of ethnicity, gender, geography, disability, race or other status – is denied universal human rights and basic economic opportunities". The UN least developed country (LDC) conferences were
7320-609: The Secretary-General that deliberations on a new development agenda must be guided by the vision of eradicating extreme poverty once and for all, in the context of sustainable development. Therefore, the report determined that a central goal of the Post-Millennium Development agenda is to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030. However, the report also emphasized that the MDGs were not enough on their own, as they did not "focus on
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#17328589269437440-588: The UN Human Rights Council in September 2012. Extreme poverty is defined by the international community as living below $ 1.90 a day, as measured in 2011 international prices (equivalent to $ 2.12 in 2018). This number, also known as the international poverty line , is periodically updated to account for inflation and differences in the cost of living; it was originally defined at $ 1.00 a day in 1996. The updates are made according to new price data to portray
7560-468: The UN and the World Bank have adopted the target of ending extreme poverty by 2030. In July 1993, Leandro Despouy , the then UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights made use of a definition he adapted from a 1987 report to the French Economic and Social Council by Fr. Joseph Wresinski , founder of the International Movement ATD Fourth World , distinguishing "lack of basic security" (poverty) and "chronic poverty" (extreme poverty), linking
7680-458: The UN, the World Bank and the United States Federal Government (via USAID), have set a target of reaching global zero by the end of 2030. More recent analyses in 2024 on real wages have questioned whether extreme poverty was a "natural" condition of humanity and decreased with the rise of capitalism . There are a variety of factors that may reinforce or instigate the existence of extreme poverty, such as weak institutions, cycles of violence and
7800-453: The UN. Since the World Bank recognizes better jobs will result in higher income, and thus less poverty, the WBG seeks to support employment training initiatives, small business development programs and strong labor protection laws. However, since much of the growth in the developing world has been inequitable, the World Bank has also begun teaming with client states to map out trends in inequality and to propose public policy changes that can level
7920-432: The Union address, he declared, "So the United States will join with our allies to eradicate such extreme poverty in the next two decades ... which is within our reach." In response to Obama's call to action, USAID has made ending extreme poverty central to its mission statement. Under its New Model of Development, USAID seeks to eradicate extreme poverty through the use of innovation in science and technology, by putting
8040-486: The WBG set an interim target of reducing extreme poverty to below 9% by 2020. Second, to focus on growth among the bottom 40% of people, as opposed to standard GDP growth. This commitment ensures that the growth of the developing world lifts people out of poverty, rather than exacerbating inequality. As the World Bank's primary focus is on delivering economic growth to enable equitable prosperity, its developments programs are primarily commercial-based in nature, as opposed to
8160-448: The WHO deals with pressing issues ranging from managing water safety, to dealing with maternal and newborn health. The US Agency for International Development ( USAID ) is the lead US government agency dedicated to ending extreme poverty. Currently the largest bilateral donor in the world, the United States channels the majority of its development assistance through USAID and the US Department of State . In President Obama's 2013 State of
8280-443: The calculation of the poverty line relies on information about consumer prices to calculate purchasing power parity , which are very hard to measure and are necessarily debatable. As with all other metrics, there may also be missing data from the poorest and most fragile countries. Several alternative instruments for measuring extreme poverty have been suggested which incorporate other factors such as malnutrition and lack of access to
8400-408: The challenges facing Barrow as needing to restore "citizen's trust and confidence in the public sector". They describe a "fragile peace" with tensions in rural areas between farmers and the larger communities. They also reported on tensions between ethnic groups developing. An example is that in February 2017, 51 supporters of Jammeh were arrested for harassing supporters of Barrow. Although his election
8520-420: The costs of basic food, health services, clothing, and shelter around the world as accurately as possible. The latest revision was made in 2015 when the World Bank increased the line to international-$ 1.90. Because many of the world's poorest people do not have a monetary income, the poverty measurement is based on the monetary value of a person's consumption . Otherwise the poverty measurement would be missing
8640-508: The country's independence, Prime Minister Dawda Jawara wrote to the Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use requesting that the name The Gambia retain the definite article, in part to reduce confusion with Zambia which had also recently become independent. The Gambia is also one of only two countries whose official name feature the article "the", with the other being The Bahamas . Arab traders provided
8760-444: The depth of poverty. For this purpose, the same institutions publish data on the poverty gap . The international poverty line is designed to stay constant over time, to allow comparisons between different years. It is therefore a measure of absolute poverty and is not measuring relative poverty . It is also not designed to capture how people view their own financial situation (known as the socially subjective poverty line). Moreover,
8880-448: The devastating effects of conflict and violence on development ... the importance to development of good governance and institution ... nor the need for inclusive growth ..." Consequently, there now exists synergy between the policy position papers put forward by the United States (through USAID), the World Bank and the UN itself in terms of viewing fragility and a lack of good governance as exacerbating extreme poverty. However, in
9000-560: The developing world over the next two decades could result in monumental shifts in global poverty, for better or worse. Others are more pessimistic about this possibility, predicting a range of 193 million to 660 million people still living in extreme poverty by 2035. Additionally, some believe the rate of poverty reduction will slow down in the developing world, especially in Africa, and as such it will take closer to five decades to reach global zero. Despite these reservations, several prominent international and national organizations, including
9120-524: The eradication of extreme poverty by allowing people currently experiencing it a real opportunity to exercise all their human rights: The lack of basic security connotes the absence of one or more factors enabling individuals and families to assume basic responsibilities and to enjoy fundamental rights. The situation may become widespread and result in more serious and permanent consequences. The lack of basic security leads to chronic poverty when it simultaneously affects several aspects of people's lives, when it
9240-440: The fact that the number of people living in extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa rose from 290 million to 414 million over the same period. However, there have been many positive signs for extensive, global poverty reduction as well. Since 1999, the total number of extreme poor has declined by an average of 50 million per year. Moreover, in 2005, for the first time in recorded history, poverty rates began to fall in every region of
9360-471: The first written accounts of The Gambia area in the ninth and tenth centuries. During the tenth century, Muslim merchants and scholars established communities in several West African commercial centres. Both groups established trans-Saharan trade routes. They carried out a large export trade of local people taken captive in raids and sold as slaves . Gold and ivory were also exported, and the trade routes were used to import manufactured goods to these areas. By
9480-407: The functions of a state, these countries are much more prone to violent unrest and mass inequality. Additionally, in countries with high levels of inequality (a common problem in countries with inadequate governing institutions), much higher growth rates are needed to reduce the rate of poverty when compared with other nations. Additionally, if China and India are removed from the equation, up to 70% of
9600-431: The home production of subsistence farmers that consume largely their own production. The $ 1.90/day extreme poverty line remains the most widely used metric as it highlights the reality of those in the most severe conditions. Although widely used by most international organizations, it has come under scrutiny due to a variety of factors. For example, it does not account for how far below the line people are, referred to as
9720-508: The international community at the turn of the century to reduce the percentage of people in extreme poverty by half by 2015. This reduction in extreme poverty took place most notably in China, Indonesia, India, Pakistan and Vietnam. These five countries accounted for the alleviation of 715 million people out of extreme poverty between 1990 and 2010 – more than the global net total of roughly 700 million. This statistical oddity can be explained by
9840-447: The international community to not only "do things differently", but to also "do different things". Civil conflict also remains a prime cause for the perpetuation of poverty throughout the developing world. Armed conflict can have severe effects on economic growth for many reasons such as the destruction of assets, destruction of livelihoods, creation of unwanted mass migration, and diversion of public resources towards war. Significantly,
9960-505: The main opposition UDP , Solo Sandeng, died in detention at the notorious National Intelligence Agency . Ousainou Darboe , the leader of the UDP, and many senior members of his party were sent to jail for demanding the release of Solo Sandeng dead or alive. President Jammeh faced opposition leaders Adama Barrow from the Independent Coalition of parties and Mamma Kandeh from The Gambia Democratic Congress party. The high court of
10080-404: The main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) boycotted the legislative elections. On 2 October 2013, The Gambian Interior Minister announced that The Gambia would leave the Commonwealth with immediate effect, ending 48 years of membership of the organisation. The Gambian government said it had "decided that The Gambia will never be a member of any Neo-Colonial institution and will never be
10200-624: The market for labour expanded in the West Indies and North America in the 18th century. In 1807, the United Kingdom abolished the slave trade throughout its empire. It also tried, unsuccessfully, to end the slave trade in The Gambia. Slave ships intercepted by the Royal Navy 's West Africa Squadron in the Atlantic were also returned to The Gambia, with people who had been slaves released on MacCarthy Island far up The Gambia River where they were expected to establish new lives. The British established
10320-534: The mid-15th century and began to dominate overseas trade. In 1588, the claimant to the Portuguese throne , António, Prior of Crato , sold exclusive trade rights on the Gambia River to English merchants. Letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I confirmed the grant. In 1618, King James I of England granted a charter to an English company for trade with The Gambia and the Gold Coast (now Ghana ). Between 1651 and 1661, some parts of The Gambia – St. Andrew's Island in
10440-431: The mid-1990s, there has been a steady decline in both the worldwide poverty rate and the total number of extreme poor. In 1990, the percentage of the global population living in extreme poverty was 43%, but in 2011, that percentage had dropped down to 21%. This halving of the extreme poverty rate falls in line with the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG1) proposed by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan , who called on
10560-585: The military post of Bathurst (now Banjul ) in 1816. In the ensuing years, Bathurst (now Banjul ) was at times under the jurisdiction of the British Governor-General in Sierra Leone . In 1888, The Gambia became a separate colony. An agreement between Britain and France in 1889 established the boundaries of the colony. In 1891, a joint Anglo-French Boundary Commission faced resistance from local leaders whose lands would be divided. The Gambia became
10680-475: The murder of journalist Deyda Hydara in 2004, a student massacre at a protest in 2000, public threats to kill human rights defenders in 2009, and public threats towards homosexuals in 2013. Furthermore, Jammeh made threats to the religious freedom of non-Muslims, used 'mercenary judges' to weaken the judiciary, and faced numerous accusations of election rigging. In the December 2016 presidential election , Jammeh
10800-663: The negotiations between the French and the British in Paris, the French initially gave the British around 320 kilometres (200 mi) of The Gambia River to control. Starting with the placement of boundary markers in 1891, it took nearly 15 years after the Paris meetings to determine the final borders of The Gambia. The resulting series of straight lines and arcs gave the British control of areas about 16 kilometres (10 mi) north and south of The Gambia River. The Gambia contains three terrestrial ecoregions: Guinean forest-savanna mosaic , West Sudanian savanna , and Guinean mangroves . It had
10920-399: The northern part of Guinea . The Gambia gained independence from the United Kingdom on 18 February 1965. From 1965 to 1994, the country was ostensibly a multi-party liberal democracy . It was ruled by Sir Dawda Jawara and his People's Progressive Party (PPP). However, the country never experienced political turnover during this period and its commitment to succession by the ballot box
11040-402: The obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child's path. Its current focus areas are 1) Child survival & development 2) Basic education & gender equality 3) Children and HIV/AIDS and 4) Child protection. The UN Refugee Agency ( UNHCR ) is mandated to lead and coordinate international action to protect refugees worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard
11160-602: The opposition was again fragmented. An example was the infighting between members of the National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD) that was formed in 2005. Jammeh used the police forces to harass opposition members and parties. Jammeh was also accused of human rights abuses, especially towards human rights activists, civil society organisations, political opponents, and the media. Their fates included being sent into exile, harassment, arbitrary imprisonment, murder, and forced disappearance . Particular examples include
11280-639: The outskirts of the town, adjacent to the Farafenni Stadium. Farafenni is at the northern end of the segment of the Trans-Gambia Highway containing the Senegambia Bridge . 13°34′N 15°36′W / 13.567°N 15.600°W / 13.567; -15.600 The Gambia The Gambia , officially the Republic of The Gambia , is a country in West Africa . Geographically, The Gambia
11400-482: The playing field. Moreover, the World Bank engages in a variety of nutritional, transfer payments and transport-based initiatives. Children who experience under-nutrition from conception to two years of age have a much higher risk of physical and mental disability. Thus, they are often trapped in poverty and are unable to make a full contribution to the social and economic development of their communities as adults. The WBG estimates that as much as 3% of GDP can be lost as
11520-520: The poorest countries. To help low-income earners, fragile states make the transition towards peace and prosperity, the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States, endorsed by roughly forty countries and multilateral institutions, was created in 2011. This represents an important step towards redressing the problem of fragility as it was originally articulated by self-identified fragile states who called on
11640-550: The preparation of the electoral register . A 1991 court challenge by the PDOIS against irregularities on the electoral register in Banjul was dismissed on a technicality. In July 1994, a bloodless military coup d'état brought an end to the Jawara era. The Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC), led by Yahya Jammeh , ruled dictatorially for two years. The council suspended the constitution, banned all political parties, and imposed
11760-523: The present, but also in the future by developing stronger communities which will make food even more secure on their own. The WFP has a range of expertise from Food Security Analysis, Nutrition, Food Procurement and Logistics. The World Health Organization (WHO) is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, articulating evidence-based policy decisions and combating diseases that are induced from poverty, such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Moreover,
11880-415: The rebel force. Between 500 and 800 people were killed during the coup and the ensuing violence. In 1982, in the aftermath of the 1981 attempted coup, Senegal and The Gambia signed a treaty of confederation. The Senegambia Confederation aimed to combine the armed forces of the two states and to unify their economies and currencies. The Gambia permanently withdrew from the confederation in 1989. In 1994,
12000-568: The region's poorest, the initiative engages in a transaction based approach to create systematic change. This includes expanding access to electricity to more than 20,000 additional households which already live without power. In terms of specific programming, USAID works in a variety of fields from preventing hunger, reducing HIV/AIDS, providing general health assistance and democracy assistance, as well as dealing with gender issues. To deal with food security , which affects roughly 842 million people (who go to bed hungry each night), USAID coordinates
12120-549: The report was the commission's environmental focus (in addition to a plethora of other goals such as combating hunger and gender inequality). Specifically, the Commission argued, "long-term poverty reduction ... requires inclusive and sustainable growth . Growth should create decent jobs, take place with resource efficiency and within planetary boundaries, and should support efforts to mitigate climate change ." The African Union's report, entitled Common African Position (CAP) on
12240-558: The rights of refugees by ensuring anyone can exercise the right to seek asylum in another state, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or resettle in a third country. The UNHCR operates in over 125 countries, helping approximately 33.9 million persons. The World Food Programme (WFP) is the largest agency dedicated to fighting hunger worldwide. On average, the WFP brings food assistance to more than 90 million people in 75 countries. The WFP not only strives to prevent hunger in
12360-479: The rule of law. In pursuit of these goals, USAID has increased global political participation by training more than 9,800 domestic election observers and providing civic education to more than 6.5 million people. Since 2012, the Agency has begun integrating critical gender perspectives across all aspects of its programming to ensure all USAID initiatives work to eliminate gender disparities. To do so, USAID seeks to increase
12480-400: The significant number of individuals still below the international poverty line, these figures represent significant progress for the international community, as they reflect a decrease of more than one billion people over 15 years. In public opinion surveys around the globe, people surveyed tend to think that extreme poverty has not decreased. The reduction of extreme poverty and hunger
12600-404: The summit were encouraged by the reduction of poverty in some nations, they were concerned by the uneven decline of poverty within and among different regions of the globe. However, at the end of the summit, the conference attendees reaffirmed the UN's commitment to achieve the MDGs by 2015 and urged all supranational, national and non-governmental organizations to follow suit. As the expiration of
12720-404: The vicious cycle of extreme poverty. Population trends and dynamics (e.g. population growth) can also have a large impact on prospects for poverty reduction. According to the United Nations, "in addition to improving general health and well-being, analysis shows that meeting the reproductive health and contraceptive needs of all women in the developing world more than pays for itself"). In 2013,
12840-501: The world's poor live in fragile states by some definitions of fragility. Some analysts project that extreme poverty will be increasingly concentrated in fragile, low-income states like Haiti, Yemen and the Central African Republic. However, some academics, such as Andy Sumner , say that extreme poverty will be increasingly concentrated in middle-income countries, creating a paradox where the world's poor do not actually live in
12960-509: The world, including Africa. As aforementioned, the number of people living in extreme poverty has reduced from 1.9 billion to 766 million over the span of the last decades. If we remain on our current trajectory, many economists predict we could reach global zero by 2030–2035, thus ending extreme poverty. Global zero entails a world in which fewer than 3% of the global population lives in extreme poverty (projected under most optimistic scenarios to be fewer than 200 million people). This zero figure
13080-711: Was attending the Royal Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana in London and was carried out by the rogues group of leftist calling themself National Revolutionary Council, composed of Kukoi Samba Sanyang 's Socialist and Revolutionary Labour Party (SRLP) and elements of the Field Force, a paramilitary force which constituted the bulk of the country's armed forces. President Jawara requested military aid from Senegal , which deployed 400 troops to The Gambia on 31 July. By 6 August, some 2,700 Senegalese troops had been deployed, defeating
13200-455: Was beaten by Adama Barrow , who was backed by a coalition of opposition parties . Jammeh's initial agreement to step down followed by a change of mind induced a constitutional crisis that culminated in a military intervention by ECOWAS forces in January 2017. Barrow pledged to serve at the head of a three-year transitional government. The Nigerian Centre for Democracy and Development describe
13320-446: Was cheated, triggering a constitutional crisis . The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) conducted a military intervention and achieved Jammeh's removal two days after his term was initially scheduled to end. The Gambia's economy is dominated by farming, fishing, and especially tourism. In 2022, 17.2% of the population lived in extreme poverty , defined as living on less than US$ 2.15 (2017 PPP ) per day. The Gambia
13440-586: Was firmly established. In 1919, an inter-racial relationship between Travelling Commissioner J. K. McCallum and Wolof woman Fatou Khan scandalized the administration. During World War II, some soldiers fought with the Allies of World War II . Though these soldiers fought mostly in Burma , some died closer to home and a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery is in Fajara (close to Banjul). Banjul contained an airstrip for
13560-550: Was in Sub-Saharan Africa, the only region where the number of people living in extreme poverty rose from 290 million in 1990 to 414 million in 2010, comprising more than a third of those living in extreme poverty worldwide. The 2005 World Summit , held in September which was organized to measure international progress towards fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Notably, the conference brought together more than 170 Heads of State. While world leaders at
13680-501: Was initially met with enthusiasm, the Centre notes that this has been dampened by Barrow's initial constitutional faux pas with his vice president, the challenge of inclusion, and high expectations post-Jammeh. On 5 December 2021, Incumbent President Adama Barrow was declared the winner of The Gambia's presidential election by the electoral commission. The 4 December 2021 election, the first since former dictator Yahya Jammeh fled into exile,
13800-467: Was made to term limits, indicating Jammeh's preference to stay in power for an extended period of time. According to the 1996 constitution, the President is the head of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Jammeh and Barrow have also both taken on the role of Minister of Defence. Extreme poverty Extreme poverty is the most severe type of poverty , defined by
13920-411: Was never tested. In 1994, a military coup propelled a commission of military officers to power, known as the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC). After two years of direct rule, a new constitution was written and in 1996, the leader of the AFPRC, Yahya Jammeh , was elected as president. He ruled in an authoritarian style until the 2016 election , which was won by Adama Barrow , backed by
14040-581: Was published in May 2013. In the report, the HLP wrote that: Ending extreme poverty is just the beginning, not the end. It is vital, but our vision must be broader: to start countries on the path of sustainable development – building on the foundations established by the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, and meeting a challenge that no country, developed or developing, has met so far. We recommend to
14160-426: Was seen as crucial for the young democracy. The Gambia has had a number of constitutions in its history. The two most significant are the 1970 constitution, which established The Gambia as a presidential republic, and the 1996 constitution, which served as a basis for Jammeh's rule and was kept following Barrow's victory in 2016. Jammeh manipulated the 1996 constitutional reform process to benefit himself. No reference
14280-528: Was stated that there was in reality a "one-party monopoly of state power centred around the dominant personality of Sir Dawda Jawara". Civil society was limited post-independence, and opposition parties were weak and at the risk of being declared subversive. The opposition did not have equal access to resources, as the business class refused to finance them. The government had control over when they could make public announcements and press briefings, and there were also allegations of vote-buying and improprieties in
14400-412: Was the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG1), as set by the United Nations in 2000. Specifically, the target was to reduce the extreme poverty rate by half by 2015, a goal that was met five years ahead of schedule. In the Sustainable Development Goals , which succeeded the MDGs, the goal is to end extreme poverty in all its forms everywhere. With this declaration the international community, including
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