Senegal’s formal health system is organized as a care pyramid: a case de santé provides basic community-level services, a poste de santé offers primary care, a centre de santé provides broader diagnosis and treatment, and an EPS or hospital handles more advanced, specialist, surgical or inpatient care. A case de santé is a local community health facility. A poste de santé and a centre de santé are public primary-care structures with different levels of staff, equipment and diagnostic capacity. EPS means Établissement public de santé, a public health institution that can include hospital services. Private clinics and practices, faith-based facilities, military and paramilitary services also provide care. Referral and counter-referral connect these levels when a facility cannot provide the required examination, treatment or follow-up.
Health in Senegal
Health care in Senegal combines public, private, faith-based, military and community-based services. Routine care usually starts at a case de santé, poste de santé or centre de santé and moves to an EPS or hospital when diagnostic or specialist care requires referral. Access, available services, waiting time and payment depend on location, facility, staffing, medicines and health coverage. For a life-threatening emergency, call 1515 for the SAMU National medical emergency service.
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