March 30, 2000
DAKAR, Senegal (PANA) - WHO's regional director for Africa, Dr Ebrahim Samba, Thursday hailed the people of Senegal for holding a peaceful presidential election that ushered in political change.
"We are happy, proud and grateful, in the name of Africa, that Africans were able to change their government in a peaceful and civilised manner," Samba said in a statement.
He noted that "contrary to the experience of some African countries, the peaceful and smooth transition in Senegal contributed to sparing the country and its neighbours an increase of the number of refugees and people displaced within their own country who are already to be counted by millions, the destruction of existing infrastructures and the sufferings and pains resulting from such situations."
Samba expressed the hope that such "an outstanding of democracy would spill over the rest of Africa to make it easy for us working in the field of health so that our meagre resources may be optimised and made available to those who really need them."
Long-time opposition leader Abdoulaye Wade defeated President Abdou Diouf.