FactCheck: Nenneh Cheyassin’s Claim That 300 of Every 1,000 Babies Die in The Gambia

Nenneh Cheyassin Secka Interview by Andy Kermah © Andy Kermah

By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT

An emerging Gambian opposition figure from the Golden Era Party (GEP), which recently aligned with the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), has claimed that 300 out of every 1,000 babies born in The Gambia die.

The Claim

Nenneh Cheyassin Secka, a former vice executive of the GEP, made the claim in a video clip that has since gone viral. She stated that:

“Every 1,000 babies that are born in The Gambia, 300 of them die because we have no incubators and we don’t have adequate hospitals to support mothers who are delivering their babies early.”

Ms Secka did not reference any specific year or data source to support her claim. The clip is reportedly a teaser from a longer interview scheduled for release on 6th February 2026. Despite this, the statement has circulated widely on social media, prompting members of the public to flag it to Askanwi Media for verification.

Fact Check

Askanwi Media reviewed available data from UNICEF and the MRC Unit The Gambia.

According to UNICEF, the maternal mortality ratio in The Gambia has dropped to 289 deaths per 100,000 live births. However, this figure was not tied to a specific year.

It is important to note that maternal mortality data in The Gambia has been subject to significant discrepancies, with official figures from the Ministry of Health previously found to be inaccurate.

A 2023 publication revealed that a study conducted by researchers from the MRC Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (MRCG at LSHTM), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and The Gambia Bureau of Statistics, found that pregnancy-related deaths in 2012 were significantly underreported.

The study concluded that:

“The prevailing pregnancy-related mortality for the country was robustly estimated at 861 deaths per 100,000 live births, as opposed to 433 deaths per 100,000 live births adopted in the Government’s national health policy and planning documents.”

Verdict

Based on data from the MRC Unit The Gambia, the Ministry of Health, and The Gambia Bureau of Statistics, the country’s maternal mortality rate was estimated at 861 deaths per 100,000 live births—not 300 deaths per 1,000 live births as claimed.

The difference between these ratios is substantial. A figure of 300 deaths per 1,000 live births implies a mortality rate of 30 percent, whereas 861 deaths per 100,000 live births represents approximately 0.861 percent.

This analysis confirms that Nenneh Cheyassin Secka’s claim that 300 babies die out of every 1,000 live births in The Gambia is false and misleading.