Senegal President Macky Sall has sacked his Health Minister, Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr, after 11 babies were killed by a fire in a hospital on Wednesday.
Mr Sarr will be replaced by Marie Khemesse Ngom Ndiaye, the ministry’s director general, following the tragedy in Tivaouane city.
The blaze, which rapidly engulfed the newborn unit took place in the neonatology department of the Mame Abdou Aziz Sy Dabakh Hospital in the western town of Tivaouane, and is being blamed on an electrical short circuit.
President Sall declared three days of national mourning. He also ordered an investigation into the tragedy.
He is expected to visit Tivaouane on Saturday to meet the babies’ relatives.
Many observers say that Senegal’s health system is beset by staffing, infrastructure, equipment and funding problems.
This is not the first such incident at a public health facility in Senegal.
A series of other deaths also have raised concerns about maternal and infant health in the West African nation known for having some of the best hospitals in the region.
President Sall declared a three days of national mourning from Thursday and flags will fly at half mast during this period, a statement from the Presidency said.
The President also launched an investigation to find out the cause of the fire, the country’s interior minister Antoine Felix Abdoulaye Diome told reporters during a visit to the hospital overnight on Wednesday.