Dimbayaa is a group of fertility professionals. We are raising awareness for the problem of infertility and we strive to improve access to adequate information and help in the Gambia.
What we do
We have developed a program for infertility care at Africmed Clinic in Brusubi where we offer counseling, standardized diagnosis and treatment of infertility – currently being ovulation induction and IUI (intra uterine insemination). In the future we hope to also introduce Cryopreservation (freezing) of semen as well as Low Cost IVF to The Gambia.
The costs involved in IVF mainly relate to two elements; The amount of fertility drugs used and the costs of the laboratory. In Mild Stimulation IVF, lower dosages of fertility drugs are used than in conventional IVF. Conventional IVF laboratories use very advanced equipment and are very expensive to run. With the Simplified Culture System (SCS) developed by The Walking Egg Foundation IVF can be carried out without the need of a full laboratory, thus massively reducing the costs.
Read more on Low Cost, Mild Stimulation IVF
Awareness and Eduction
We aim to develop outreach programs to promote fertility awareness, focusing on both primary prevention by means of sexual education of young people, and secondary prevention, by the early and appropriate diagnosis and treatment of STDs to prevent infertility later on in life.
In order to understand the impact and cultural aspects of infertility we have spoken to many women both in urban and rural area’s. Since traditional and mystical ideas are so deeply rooted in Gambian life we have also connected with several traditional healers and institutions. In our experience people are very eager for knowledge and open to new idea’s. We aim to continue this dialogue and strive to train local teachers, health care workers and women’s groups in educating the people on reproductive health and infertility.
Ideally one center for sexual and reproductive health would be established where women can come for all their issues with contraception, STD-screening as well as diagnosis and treatment of infertility. From this center educational outreach programs could be developed and coordinated. These programs should integrate both infertility and related subjects such as family planning, FGM, STD’s, and child marriage.
Here’s how we hope to do so Awareness and Education