Health: Sames calls 72-hour strike and denounces minister’s “contempt”

Senegal’s Autonomous Union of Doctors, Pharmacists and Dental Surgeons (Sames) has called a 72-hour nationwide strike to protest what it describes as the authorities’ persistent inaction over problems in the health system. Emergency services will remain operational. The union condemned remarks attributed to the minister of Health and Social Action, who reportedly urged Senegalese practitioners to seek work abroad, calling them contemptuous of medical professionals. Sames will hold a press conference in Dakar on October 29, 2026, at 11 a.m., and says it will continue its action until its demands are met.