Mother’s childbirth account highlights strain in Senegal’s public hospitals

A difficult childbirth experienced by Awa Diba has highlighted reported pressures facing Senegal’s public healthcare system, as medical professionals continue to raise concerns about staffing, equipment and investment.

Diba went into labour 24 hours before health workers across Senegal were due to begin a strike. After 24 hours of labour, she gave birth to a healthy daughter and left the hospital.

She said she shared a room with four other women and described conditions including cracks across the ceiling, a fan that did not work, differences in air conditioning between rooms and intermittent electricity.

“There is a lot of shouting,” Diba said, describing the atmosphere during childbirth. She also said women cried and appeared frightened, with their distress sometimes met by the instruction: “Be quiet.”

Strike disrupted routine services

Doctors, pharmacists and dental surgeons held a strike on September 16 and 17, following a 48-hour stoppage the previous week. Emergency care continued during the action, but routine medical activities were disrupted.

The medical union SAMES has called for additional recruitment, improved career and pension conditions, and increased investment in hospitals and medical equipment, particularly outside Dakar. The union says its demands date back to 2023.

“We waited, we hoped and we followed up,” said Dr Diabel Drame, the union’s secretary-general. “Unfortunately, no plausible response was given to us.”

Dr Marc Manga, a SAMES member in Ziguinchor, said the challenge extended beyond the number of doctors available. “How can we talk about quality of care when hospitals lack basic equipment and patients have to travel hundreds of kilometres to get a diagnosis?” he asked.

Staffing and wider financial pressures

At the end of 2024, Senegal’s National Medical Council had 5,236 registered doctors, including 4,407 working in the public sector, according to the council’s president.

Broader economic pressures have also complicated discussions about public services. The International Monetary Fund said Senegal’s economy grew by 6.7 percent in 2025. However, it estimated total public-sector debt at 132 percent of gross domestic product at the end of 2024.

Following President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s election to office, government audits uncovered previously undisclosed borrowing and prompted revisions to the country’s debt figures. The IMF said a reconciliation exercise revised central government debt at the end of 2023 from 74.4 percent to 111 percent of GDP, primarily because of previously undisclosed liabilities.

Foreign aid has supported healthcare programmes in Senegal. Reporting by Le Monde and other organisations working in the country said cuts to United States aid affected programmes covering HIV, malaria and reproductive health.

Faye has described the global debt architecture as “inadequate” and “inequitable”, arguing that it limits access to essential public services, including healthcare and education. He travelled to Washington for talks with the IMF and World Bank and later went to Abu Dhabi to meet investors and financial backers.

Diba’s experience and future plans

Diba grew up in Casamance in southern Senegal and studied digital communication at university in Ziguinchor. She later moved to Dakar, retrained as a nurse and completed placements at Hopital Principal de Dakar and the Albert Royer children’s hospital.

She said some patients fear entering public hospitals. “They are afraid of dying,” Diba said, adding that some people wait until an illness reaches its final stage before seeking care.

“I saw things inside the hospital that shocked me,” she said. “I don’t want my daughter to experience this.”

Diba plans to specialise in haematology.