Senegal health minister sacked after children died in hospital fire

After a fire at a hospital in Senegal claimed the lives of infants, the country's minister of health was fired.

After a tragic incident in which 11 babies were killed in a hospital fire in Senegal, the country's President, Macky Sall, has removed Abdoulaye Sarr from his position as Minister of Health and replaced him with a different individual.

Marie Ndiaye has been given the role of Minister of Health in order to prevent the management of the nation's healthcare system from falling into disarray as a result of the President's failure to fill the position.

Prior to his selection as the new minister, Ndiaye served as the Director-General of Public Health in the country. As the new minister, Ndiaye will be tasked with the duty of regaining the faith of Senegalese citizens in the nation's public healthcare facilities.

The new information was made public yesterday via a statement that was issued by the president's media handlers in response to the growing number of relatives of newborn infants who demanded that justice be served.

On Wednesday, a fire broke out in the neonatal unit of Mame Abdou Aziz Sy Dabakh Hospital in the city of Tivaouane, which is located in the western region of the country. Eleven newborn babies passed away as a result of the fire, which sparked public outrage, with many citizens holding the hospital's staff responsible for the tragedy.

Due to the event, Sarr was forced to cut short his trip to Geneva, Switzerland, where he was attending the annual session of the World Health Organization (WHO).

When he got back, he went to the hospital's neonatology department to enquire about the circumstances behind the deaths of the infants. The medical professionals showed him around the facility so he could get a better idea of the magnitude of the damage.

In the meanwhile, the public prosecutor had said previously that investigations were still proceeding to discover the precise cause of the fire and that justice will be served by holding all of those involved to account for their actions.