Abass Ndao Hospital: 15 doctors recruited, a 10.7 billion CFA franc surgical center planned

The City of Dakar wants to breathe new life into the Abass Ndao Hospital. On the sidelines of the official presentation of the Grand Surgical Center of Dakar, this Wednesday, September 23 at City Hall, the director of the establishment, Demba Diédhiou, announced the recruitment of 15 doctors by the mayor of Dakar, Abass Fall, to strengthen the hospital's staff.

This announcement gives particular prominence to a project presented as one of the most important healthcare developments in the capital. Named the Grand Surgical Center of Dakar, the future complex is expected to mobilize 10.756 billion CFA francs and allow the Abass Ndao Hospital Center to reach a new level in patient care.

“As soon as I arrived in Dakar, I met Professor Demba Diédhiou, the hospital director. From our first meeting, we talked about this project and I told him: we have to go for it,” explained Abass Fall, who claims a personal commitment to this project.

For the mayor, the project is part of a clear strategy: making health a municipal priority. "As we have always stated, health is a priority for us," he emphasized, believing that the future center must first meet the needs of Dakar residents before extending its reach beyond the capital.

The project envisions a four-story building (ground floor + 4 floors) of 15,000 m², bringing together eight surgical specialties around a single technical platform. Emergency care, intensive care, operating theater, and imaging will be combined in one space, with the stated objective of reducing delays, patient transfers, and disruptions in the patient care pathway.

In detail, the future center will notably have 11 operating rooms, a medical-surgical intensive care unit with 30 beds in individual cubicles, an emergency reception service with direct access to ambulances, as well as an imaging platform including CT scanner, radiology and ultrasound.

For the hospital director, the main challenge is to address a deficit that has become difficult to ignore. According to figures presented at the ceremony, 49% of patients treated at Abass Ndao undergo surgical procedures, while the facility is currently only able to cover approximately 51% of its surgical needs.

“Accessibility is not just financial or geographical accessibility. It is also accessibility in terms of quality,” explained Professor Diédhiou, defending a project designed around a hospital with a social mission, with care costs kept lower than those of many other structures.

The future center is thus presented as a response to the overcrowding of existing facilities to which many patients are currently referred for surgical procedures. But its ambition extends beyond the borders of Dakar. "Such a project cannot be limited to Dakar alone. It is a project that will attract and address medical needs at the sub-regional level," declared Abass Fall.

On the financing side, the construction cost is estimated at 10.7 billion CFA francs, plus a working capital requirement of 356 million CFA francs to allow the complex to start its activities under good conditions.

Director Demba Diédhiou also puts forward an economic projection: based on the social tariffs charged in Abass Ndao, the future hub could generate approximately 1.9 billion CFA francs in annual revenue, for estimated expenses of 1.4 billion CFA francs, resulting in an announced gross surplus of 513 million CFA francs per year.

But before discussing profitability, construction will be necessary. The groundbreaking is scheduled for the last quarter of 2026, with work beginning in 2027. The City of Dakar intends to continue the transformation already underway in Abass Ndao, a district already marked by several modernization projects.

For Abass Fall, the message is clear: "To make health a priority based on proximity, equity, and quality."

For Abass Ndao, the challenge now is to transform this ambition into a surgical platform capable of absorbing more patients, with more doctors and, in the long term, fewer evacuations.

A hospital with increased staff today, a major surgical center worth 10.7 billion CFA francs tomorrow: Abass Ndao wants to change scale.