Healthcare in Senegal is a center topic of discourse in understanding the well-being and vitality of the Senegalese people. As of 2008, there was a need to improve Senegal's infrastructure to promote a healthy, decent living environment for the Senegalese.
Additionally, the country needs more doctors and health personnel, particularly general practitioners, gynecologists, obstetricians, pediatricians, pulmonologist, and cardiologists. In fact, Senegal has seven doctors per 100,000 citizens, while 32% of rural citizens have no access to medical care at all. Moreover, there is a strong need to have more of these personnel in rural areas: in 2008, Senegal had only twenty full-fledged hospitals, seven of which are in Dakar.
From approximately 1905 to the present, there have been significant shifts in Senegal's healthcare system, the system's structures, specific diseases that are problematic in Senegal, as well as issues affecting women and children and access to healthcare in the country. As of 2019, there were 1,347 medical facilities, including 20 major hospitals.
History
As is the case in the rest of the African continent, the Senegalese have long used traditional medicines and rely on traditional healers for their ailments. During the colonial era, the health care system was drastically changed. In 1905, France laid the foundation for health policy in the area, though primarily to serve the French colonial officials and not the native Senegalese. Imperialist extraction from African colonies meant that the health care infrastructure was primarily constructed in large, coastal cities such as Dakar. Infrastructure in rural areas was largely left out of the picture. Later in 1905, Medical Assistance for the Indigenous was created. It was responsible for providing free medical care and health advice to indigenous peoples, promoting immunization, and promoting maternal and child health. After the Second World War, international public opinion became more critical of colonial policy, and comprehensive programs were put in place to fight against major diseases. Since its independence from France, Senegal has become more involved in major international programs for development and health. Some historians argue that the commoditization and commercialization of healthcare, moving from the colonial to the post-colonial era, has reduced health care to a convenience that is only available to the wealthy, with those in dire poverty often unable to access care. As a result of the development of health care infrastructure in the colonial era by the French, access remains very uneven across regions and between income levels.
Organization of the health care system
Senegal's health system is pyramidal, with three main parts: a central level, a regional level, and a peripheral level. The central level contains the minister's office, branches, and related services. The regional level is known as the "medical region", an administrative region that addresses healthcare services within a given region. The peripheral level is known as the "health district", with each district having at least one health center and a network of smaller centers.
The national health system is divided into three levels: regional hospitals, district health centers, and health posts. Rural health care is divided into three parts: health centers, health posts, and health points. Health centers are at the top, with one to two medical doctors and 15-20 people as part of the health staff. Health posts are below these, with four or five health workers. At the lowest level are health points, which house one or two health agents and a midwife. The system has been the subject of much criticism, especially because of the increasing demands of profitability and the corruption in this part of the government as in other domains of public life.
Hospitals
In 2019, there were 1,347 medical facilities in Senegal, including 13 regional hospitals, 5 national hospitals and two university hospitals. The largest number of hospitals was in the Dakar Region.
In 2021, four new hospitals were established in Touba, Kaffrine, Kédougou and Sédhiou.
