Dr. Adama Amadou Sallah was born 19th December 1948 in Banjul. As the expert witness at the Truth Reconciliation and Reparation Commission (TRRC), he described former President Jammeh's Alternative Treatment Programme (ATP) as a fraudulent and dangerous enterprise.
Dr Sallah got his Bachelor of Science degree in 1973 and by 1976 he acquired medical doctorate from the same University of Carolinska in Sweden as the first black to graduate from that university.
In Sweden, he served as House Registrar, Registrar and Consultant respectively. However, in 1982, he came back to The Gambia to work with one guy from Solomon Island in the United Kingdom.
He said from1984-1985, he decided to open his own clinic called Lamtoro Clinic. Notwithstanding, he did not leave government completely as he was part of the people to develop RVH to a teaching hospital.
According to him, he is back at Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital as the Chairman of the Undergraduate and Post Graduate degrees. He added that he also served as a member of the Medical and Dental Council.
Giving his testimony on the relationship between President Yahya Jammeh, and the medical practitioners, Dr Sallah said the relationship wasn't smooth. He said when Jammeh took over power in 1994, the medical practitioners were the first to condemn it and Jammeh wasn't happy with that.
On the second aspect when Jammeh wanted to establish a medical school, there were differences in opinions in doing so.
Third issue was about the Cuban doctors. He said they wanted the doctors just to come into the country and start practicing without being vetted. As a result, the Cuban Ambassador was so mad and went to protest to the highest positions in government, resulting to Doctor Mbaye Faal resigning. He said at the time he was leaving some of them were not licensed to practice which he said is in contravention of the law.
However, after Jammeh left they worked on mending fences; adding that under Jammeh, Council was supposed to get a subvention of D150,000 per annum. "Until I left Council I think we received subvention only twice," said Sallah.
He reported that the Medical Services Act did not authorise any person to perform any customary therapy which might lead to death of that person. “The Act further stated under Section 39 that anyone who presents himself as a medical practitioner without being licensed is liable to imprisonment and a fine or both”.
He said the Code of Conducts and Ethics were designed to protect the patients and the public. "Medicine is one of the most regulated professions; even the dress code is regulated. The patient is above all other considerations and ignorance of the law is no excuse”.
Further in his testimony, Dr Sallah explained that what makes Jammeh's treatment look like conventional medicine are: having an inpatient and outpatient, usage of lab, involvement of doctors trained in conventional medicine, therapy amongst others. Jammeh's concoction, he said, was fraudulent as it was not based on science. “The context of cure of HIV remains elusive because the virus cannot be completely wiped out from the system but the individual or patients can live a productive life”.
He went on: “The management of HIV AIDS is a difficult one; therefore, it needs good knowledge”. Dr. Sallah told the Commission that there is nobody who attended the PATP programme who would say that they have been cured of the disease.
By virtue of Section 41 (2) Jammeh should have been stopped by the Director of Health Services and if he refused, then the necessary steps should have been taken.
The witness told the Commission that while certain examinations do not need written consent form, a written consent form is needed in major operations.
Therefore, he said from his experience and videos he saw about Jammeh's treatment, there was an indication that they had failed morally and ethically and that section 39 of the Medical Services Act could be imposed on Jammeh.