Eleven babies have died in a hospital fire in Tivaouane, western Senegal, the country’s president said.
Macky Sall tweeted Wednesday night: “I just learned with grief and dismay of the deaths of 11 newborn babies in the public hospital neonatal department fire. To their mothers and their families. , I express my deepest condolences “.
The incident took place at Mame Abdou Aziz Sy Dabakh Hospital and was caused by “a short circuit”, according to Senegalese politician Diop Sy. “The fire spread very quickly.”
The mayor of the city, Demba Diop, said three babies were saved. According to local media, the hospital was officially opened recently.
Health Minister Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr, who was in Geneva to attend a meeting with the World Health Organization, said he would return to Senegal immediately.
“This situation is very unfortunate and extremely painful,” he told the radio. “An investigation is underway to see what happened.”
The fire broke out after several incidents in Senegal’s public health facilities, where there is a large disparity between urban and rural areas in health services.
In April in Linguère, a hospital fire broke out and four babies died. The mayor of the northern town blamed a power outage on a maternity air conditioning unit.
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This Wednesday’s fire also comes weeks after three midwives were convicted of the death of a pregnant woman who was waiting in vain for a cesarean section.
The woman, named Astou Sokhna, had arrived at a hospital in the northern city of Louga in pain. Staff had refused to accommodate their cesarean application, saying it had not been scheduled. He died on April 1, 20 hours after arriving.
Sokhna’s death caused public outrage over Senegal’s dire state of health care, and the health minister acknowledged two weeks later that the death could have been avoided.
Three midwives on duty the night Sokhna died were sentenced on May 11 by the Louga High Court to a six-month suspended prison sentence for “failing to assist a person in danger.”
Amnesty International’s director for Senegal, Seydi Gassama, said his organization had called for an inspection and improvement of neonatology services across the country following the “atrocious” death of four babies in Linguère.
Amnesty “urges the government to set up an independent commission of inquiry to determine responsibility and punish the perpetrators, regardless of their level in the state apparatus,” he tweeted.
Opposition MP Mamadou Lamine Diallo also responded indignantly to the Tivaouane fire.
“More babies burned in a public hospital … that’s unacceptable @MackySall. We suffer with the families we offer our condolences to. That’s enough,” he wrote.