Médicos del Mundo desde Senegal

Médicos del Mundo has been present in Senegal since 2003. It has worked in different regions of the country, always with the aim of accompanying Senegalese society to reduce the causes of violations of the right to health, as it is a country that presents many inequalities in access to the health system.

Senegal is one of the emerging economies in West Africa, yet public spending on health continues to fall short of the international commitments the country has adopted, especially the Abuja Declaration. Access to health care is conditioned by a series of socioeconomic determinants, among which is the purchasing power of each person. This economic barrier leaves a huge part of the population unprotected. Health is still a luxury that many people cannot afford.

Thus, we work on three strategic axes:

• in strengthening the public health system to achieve universal access to quality services
• in the elimination of inequalities in the active exercise of the right to health
• in the promotion of an active and critical citizenry that is a protagonist in the defense of their fundamental rights, dedicating special attention to vulnerable and excluded groups.

We are in the medical regions of Dakar and Kédougou. in the areas of sexual and reproductive health, prevention of gender violence, child health, access to health for especially vulnerable key populations and for universal health coverage.

Part of the intervention takes place in different peri-urban areas of Dakar. In 2020 we opened an office in Kédougou to expand the intervention area by supporting one of the regions with the worst health indicators. From this base, two interventions have been initiated: one aimed at eradicating gender violence and another to reduce the impact of COVID-19 in the border area between Senegal and Guinea Conakry. In the Dakar medical region, we support the response to the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 in areas such as communication for risk reduction, infection control and prevention, improvement of approach and treatment, and reinforcement of coordination systems.