The excitement that greeted recent announcement of the resumption of President Jammeh's infertility treatment was still visible on the faces of some 130 patients as they line up to be administered the medication. Some of them have travelled from across the sub-region to be registered in the 3rd batch which indicates a growing popularity of the President's treatment programme. It could be recalled that about one thousand women with infertility have undergone the treatment successfully in the previous two batches during the course of 2008. About 400 of them have been reported conceived shortly after the treatment and most of them have named their male child after the President as sign of gratitude on his intervention. Some of them have been barren for decades and even one was said to have lived with the experience for more than 25 years.

The successes registered in the previous two batches of patients is thrilling the 130 accommodated and offered treatment free of charge by President Jammeh in his home village of Kanilai. The duration is one week of which according to President Jammeh, they will be administered the herbal medication three times daily. He told them shortly before the start of the treatment that one important guideline is to have faith in the Almighty Allah and that his medication is effective as long as patients follow strictly rules and instructions issued during the course of the one week they are to stay in Kanilai.

The President used the occasion to allay fears and concern regarding his safety, noting the patients are well screened and he only does the treatment when the coast is clear. Some patients had come to the treatment session previously with ultra-motives but they were well handled by Doctor Jammeh, who advised this current batch to leave behind spiritual knowledge that could cause harm to humanity.

Issues of compatibility come to play in the making of children, but women bear the brunt of the blame and social isolation. The President said, he targets women first for the treatment and in the event that a man is affected, he can be offered treatment which only takes three days. He made it abundantly clear that patients should not expect automatic pregnancy after treatment. It could take longer, sometimes over a year before they conceive, this, however, differ from every individual patient.

The women might at last be finding luck on years of desperate search for fertility to regain and restore lost prestige and respect within their individual family set up. Some have paid heavy prices for being barren.