In Senegal, medical doctors under the payroll of the government have commenced a 48-hour strike across the country, against the arrest of a gynecologist and two others following the death of a mother and her baby last week in Kedougou region, South of the country.

In a press briefing on Sunday, the secretary general of the Autonomous Union of Doctors of Senegal (SAMES), Dr Yéri Camara, said the warning strike cuts across all health structures of Senegal.

According to the union, if the doctors are not released, the strike may take a different turn.

Camara who described the increase in cases of maternal deaths in Senegal as unfortunate, added that the doctors were only doing their job.

A series of other deaths also have raised concerns about maternal and infant health in Senegal, however known for having some of the best hospitals in the region.

Recall in July this year, authorities discovered a baby that had been declared dead by a nurse's aide was still alive in a morgue. The infant later died.

Last year a pregnant woman died in Louga, in the north of the country, after waiting in vain for a cesarean section. Three midwives were given six-month suspended sentences for not giving help to a person in danger.