Omar Manjang is a director of nursing and midwifery services in The Gambia. Omar currently serves the Gambia’s Ministry of Health, where he supervises and manages the nursing workforce and excels at facilitating career development and leadership opportunities. He also coordinates and implements the policies, plans, and budgets of the Nursing and Midwifery Services. Omar earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing from the University of Benin in Nigeria, where he specialized in reproductive and family health nursing, particularly the impact of maternal hand washing on infectious diseases among neonates. He earned a Master of Science in Nursing Sciences from the National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences. In addition, Omar earned a registered nursing certificate from the Gambia College School of Nursing and Midwifery.
Applied Project Title: Making Hand Washing a Habit Among Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women of The Gambia: At Key Junctions
Hand washing prevents the spread of germs and disease, and many lives could be saved if there was a way for the Ministry of Health in The Gambia to encourage pregnant and breastfeeding women to wash their hands with soap and water at key junctures. In The Gambia, only about 31% of household members have access to a hand washing facility that includes soap and water. Additionally, many new mothers do not understand the extent to which hand washing can prevent infections and death in their vulnerable newborns. This project was designed to change behavior through a variety of interventions and government actions, including continuous professional development of nurses and health care workers; mandatory counseling programs for pregnant women, new mothers and their spouses; and the installation of more hand washing stations with clean water and soap across the country.