‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’

Wednesday’s accident also comes over a month after the nation mourned the death of a pregnant woman who waited in vain for a Caesarean section.

The woman, named Astou Sokhna, had arrived at a hospital in the northern city of Louga in pain. The staff had refused to accommodate her request for a C-section, saying that it was not scheduled. She died April 1, 20 hours after she arrived.

Sokhna’s death caused a wave of outrage across the country on the dire state of Senegal’s public health system, and Sarr 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 High Court of Louga to six months of suspended imprisonment for “failure to assist a person in danger” in connection to her case.

Amnesty International’s Senegal director Seydi Gassama said his organisation had called for an inspection and upgrade for neonatology services in hospitals across Senegal after the “atrocious” death of the four babies in Linguere.

With Wednesday’s fresh tragedy, Amnesty “urges the government to set up an independent commission of inquiry to determine responsibility and punish the culprits, no matter the level they are at in the state apparatus,” he tweeted.

Opposition lawmaker Mamadou Lamine Diallo also responded with outrage to the Tivaouane blaze that killed the babies. “More babies burned in a public hospital... this is unacceptable @MackySall,” he said.

“We suffer with the families to whom we offer our condolences. Enough is enough.”