Food & Medicine Safety: President Adama Barrow inaugurated The Gambia’s first National Food and Drug Quality Control Laboratory in Brusubi, a $10m World Bank-funded facility meant to test medicines, food and cosmetics locally—cutting delays from overseas checks and helping detect counterfeit or contaminated products after the AKI tragedy. Regulatory Strengthening: The Food Safety and Quality Authority launched a National Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Committee to coordinate food safety and plant/animal health systems, support WTO obligations, and improve transparency and science-based monitoring for safer trade. Public Health Capacity: Merck Foundation continues cancer care capacity-building across Africa, including training scholarships and cancer awareness efforts that include The Gambia. Health System Risk Watch: WHO guidance updates on insecticide resistance monitoring for mosquitoes and sandflies, including discriminating concentrations and test conditions for new insecticides used in indoor residual spraying. Food Security & Poverty: A Gambia envoy at a Pretoria poverty dialogue urged practical, people-centred action, stressing that poverty also limits access to healthcare, education, decent work, housing and food security. Governance & Services: Government debt repayment and budget execution figures were reported for the first quarter, alongside ongoing public pressure over water and electricity interruptions affecting healthcare and schools.