Des pirogues pour nos malades : penser les dispositifs d’évacuation sanitaire dans les îles au Sénégal

Abstract

Access to certain types of medical care in island areas in Senegal often requires difficult evacuation, both emotionally and physically. Geographic accessibility constraints force populations to adopt adaptation strategies through the use of canoes. By examining public emergency management systems, it becomes clear that the availability of suitable means of transport as well as perceived degrees of emergency and types of pathologies are all factors that need to be taken into account. We therefore question the gaps between the prescribed standards and the contexts of action in the light of territorial disparities in healthcare provision, by analyzing the patient transport by canoe as a device that highlights social and health inequalities. These discrepancies are perceptible through the intervention methods as well as cultural and care practices.

Keywords

• Senegal
• health evacuations
• insularity
• dugout canoes
• territorial inequalities in healthcare