Structure of the Healthcare

Healthcare in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania is overseen by the Ministry of Health (MoH). The MoH is in charge of health and medical systems in the country and also oversees the primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare services with the help of departments including: 

• Hospital Medicine

• Disease Control

• Pharmacy & Laboratories

• Basic Health Services

• Planning, Cooperation, and Health Information 

• Infrastructures, Equipment, and Maintenance

Financing Healthcare

The National Health Insurance Fund, Caisse Nationale d’Assurance Maladie (CNAM), is working toward attaining universal healthcare in Mauritania. It covers the following groups:

• Parliamentarians, civil servants, and state agents.

• Personnel of the Armed Forces in active positions.

• Staff of public establishments, public companies, and legal entities governed by public law.

Investment Opportunities

Lucrative opportunities to invest in the kingdom’s healthcare space include but are not limited to:

• Medical Tourism and Cosmetics

• Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices

• Hospitalization

• Medical Education and Services

Start Ups & Technology

The Kingdom has utilized emerging technologies such as Digital Hospital, mHealth (Mobile Health), c-Health (Connected Health), Health 2.0, Data & Analytics, Digital Therapeutics, and Health Information Technology through various startups. 

These emerging technologies have ensured healthcare services are available and easily accessible to everyone. Notable startups include:

• REMA

• Healthlane

Challenges

The health sector in Mauritania faces challenges toward development. These challenges include but are not limited to:

• There is an underdeveloped primary healthcare system which lacks many hygiene resources and basic equipment. 

• There is no referral system and there is a lack of coordination between the levels of healthcare; therefore, patients end up spending much more money seeking healthcare services outside the country.

• The medical staff are overburdened due to a lack of supporting personnel, which in turn contributes to long waiting lines, as physicians spend more time treating fewer patients.

• There is limited bed capacity in medical facilities.

Solutions

• Build an effective and efficient primary healthcare system to facilitate the first stage of early detection of diseases and treatment. 

• Creating a centralized referral system will facilitate emergency and outpatient healthcare needs.

• Allocating funds to build more secondary and tertiary level hospitals would solve the bed capacity issue and manpower deficiencies.