In Senegal, the 11 babies who died in a fire at Tivaouane hospital have been buried

The eleven babies who died in a fire on Wednesday evening at the public hospital in Tivaouane, in western Senegal, were buried on Sunday May 29 in the cemetery of this city, its mayor, Demba Diop, told AFP. Sy. According to the wishes of the families, the eleven babies were buried during the same ceremony. The burial took place at  » behind closed doors « the city councilor told AFP.

“We sympathize with the pain of the familiesunderlined Demba Diop Sy. Today is Mother’s Day in Senegal and there are eleven mothers who have lost their child.adding that this drama highlights « that more attention is needed in the field of health, in favor of families and children ». The families affected by this tragedy began this Sunday to receive aid, said the mayor while “the investigation is proceeding normally”.

What happened on Wednesday evening at the Mame Abdou Aziz Sy Dabakh hospital remains to be established. The testimonies report a fire spreading rapidly in the neonatal unit, and staff and users powerless to save the children. An electrical short circuit was the cause of the accident.

Accusations of negligence flew. But the mayor assured that two caregivers were in the service at the time of the events. The new neonatology service, co-financed by a private company, was delivered at the end of 2021 with safety equipment and staff training in fire alerts, he said.

« Space of Tragedy »

On Friday, Senegalese President Macky Sall acknowledged the« obsolete » Senegal’s health system and ordered an audit of neonatal services so that the public hospital is not « no longer a space for tragedy ».

This drama is indeed the latest to highlight the shortcomings of the health system of this poor country. In one year, it is at least the third event with the death of children in the public hospital to upset public opinion. Apart from calls for sanctions, it has aroused in part of the opinion accusations of passivity on the part of the authorities. On Thursday, Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr was dismissed by the Head of State and replaced as Minister of Health and Social Action by Dr. Marie Khemesse Ngom Ndiaye, until then Director General of Public Health.

The Senegalese were thus moved by the death of four newborns in the fire of a neonatology department at Linguère hospital in April 2021, and the tragic fate of a pregnant woman, Astou Sokhna, who died with her baby on 1^er last April after what his relatives describe as a long agony and denial of care at Louga hospital.

The young woman, nine months pregnant, had waited twenty hours for the caesarean which was to give birth to her child. In vain. Three midwives had been sentenced by a Senegalese court on May 11 to six months in prison, suspended for  » no assistance to the person in danger « .