Mauritania

The West African country of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, and has borders with Morocco, Algeria, Mali and Senegal. The French established a protectorate over the country in 1903, with it becoming a colony seventeen years later, administered from Dakar. In 1937 there were only nine European medical officers in Mauritania, and there were no major hospitals, with ten subsidiary hospitals, seven maternity centers and eight medical posts, staffed by seven African [Page 1072]auxiliary doctors and 23 nurses. With a population of 324,000, there were in total 13 hospital beds in the whole of Mauritania, of which one was reserved for a European patient, and the remainder for Africans.

In 1958 Mauritania became an autonomous state, and gained its independence on November 28, 1960. At independence, the healthcare system in Mauritania was still poor, with extreme poverty, and sparse medical facilities. The 8th Conference of the Organization to Fight Endemic Diseases was held in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, from October 15 to 18, 1962. However, in the following year there was still not much of a medical service in the country, with telephone number “11” being for the chief doctor's home. In 1965 there were less than three doctors per 100,000 people.

Most of the medical problems in the country were because of extreme poverty, with waterbourne diseases and those transmitted by insects, such as malaria, being prevalent in all parts of the country except for Nouadhibou and Tiris in the north of the country. There have also been many problems over the drinking of contaminated water, leading to people suffering from cholera and dysentery. During the late 1960s and 1970s the civilian government of President Mokhtar Ould Daddah tried to improve health conditions in the country. This included establishing a National School of Nurses and Midwives in 1966, and a National Health Center in 1977. He also oversaw the establishment of the Mauritania Red Crescent Society. Subsequent military governments in the country have also tried to improve medical care. As a result there are now several hospitals in the country. The main hospital, in Nouakchott, is located to the west of the main part of the city.

It has 500 beds and is staffed by expatriate and European doctors. There are also now sub-hospitals at Nouadhibou, Atar and Rosso, and also smaller clinics in 21 other places, as well as pharmacies in all the major towns in the country. In addition, the military operate their own hospitals, although all the hospitals and clinics in the country lack many basic requirements.

In 1991 the government launched a campaign against blindness, and during the rest of the decade the average life expectancy remained at 45 for men and 51 for women, with the infant mortality rate, which was 102 per 1,000 live births in the late 1980s, rising to 125 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1993. The main problems facing the country remain infectious diseases, with measles and tuberculosis still being responsible for many hospital admissions. Poliomyelitis, meningitis, and typhoid are also found around the country. There are also cases of Rift Valley fever, hepatitis and parasitical illnesses. The country still relies on French doctors, and there are 14 doctors and 62 nurses per 100,000 people.

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