The COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding border closures have severely impacted the fragile economy of The Gambia. Pandemic responses are affecting trade, which accounts for 25% of imported goods and exported earnings, and the valuable tourism industry, which provides an income to 42,000 Gambian people. Hotels, restaurants, and tourist attractions have all been affected by the complete standstill of the tourist industry.

Unemployment rates in The Gambia have drastically risen since the beginning of the pandemic, making remittances even more important to the country’s economy. Each year an estimated 118,000 Gambians living abroad send remittances to their families, accounting for more than 20% of the country’s GDP and offering an essential economic lifeline to many Gambian families. But the World Bank predicts that in 2021 the amount of money migrant workers send home is projected to decline by 14% globally.

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The most significant loss to families has come from small and medium-sized enterprises, which are the backbone of the country’s economy. Informal workers rely on daily activity outside of the home to sustain their families and have faced particular restrictions on their ability to work as lockdown measures are enforced.