History
As is the case in the rest of the African continent, the Senegalese have long used, and continue to use, traditional medicines and rely on traditional healers for medical ailments. However, in 1905, France laid the foundation for health policy in the area, though primarily to serve the French and not the native Senegalese. Later in 1905, Medical Assistance for the Indigenous was created. It was responsible for providing free medical care and health advice to indigenous peoples, promoting immunization, and promoting maternal and child health. Then, after the Second World War, the international public opinion became more critical of colonial policy, and priorities became refocused on child health. Comprehensive programs were put in place to fight against major diseases. Since its independence from France, and from the Gambia and Mali, Senegal has become more involved in major international programs for development and health. Today, access to health care remains very uneven across regions and between different income levels.
Read more about this topic: Health In Senegal
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The history of reform is always identical; it is the comparison of the idea with the fact. Our modes of living are not agreeable to our imagination. We suspect they are unworthy. We arraign our daily employments.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“There is a history in all men’s lives,
Figuring the natures of the times deceased,
The which observed, a man may prophesy,
With a near aim, of the main chance of things
As yet not come to life.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“History is the present. That’s why every generation writes it anew. But what most people think of as history is its end product, myth.”
—E.L. (Edgar Lawrence)