Marie Senghor Basse (1930-2019), full name Marie-Thérèse Camille Senghor Basse, was a

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

ese

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

who led the ''Centre de protection maternelle et infantile'' (Maternal and Child Protection Center). Basse represented Senegal at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and directed the Institute of Food Technology.

Early life

Basse was the niece of the first Senegalese Head of State. Basse graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of Paris in 1957.

Career

In 1958, Basse was assigned to the Bally Hospital in

Conakry Conakry ( , ; ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its population as of the 2014 Guinea census was 1,660,973. The current population of C ...

, then transferred to the medical district of Boké. After residing in

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

for two years, Basse returned to Senegal, where she was in charge of directing the Maternal and Child Protection Center. Later in Italy, she served as Senegal's permanent representative to the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...

of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

(FAO) from 1961 to 1966. There she worked alongside her husband Edouard Camille Basse, the Senegalese ambassador to Italy. Upon the couple's return to Senegal, Basse was assigned as a medical inspector to the Dakar Medical School for two years. In 1968, she was appointed director of Senegal's ''l'Institut de Technologie Alimentaire'' (Institute of Food Technology) where she researched the processing of

fruits In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

vegetables Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including flowers, fruits, ...

grains A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit ( caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and le ...

, and animal products. Basse was frequently seen on Senegalese national television (ORTS) promoting " local consumption" of foods. This was done by changing behaviour and eating habits. She showed women and households healthy ways to consume local products such as ''pamiblé'' bread, corn or millet cakes, concentrated juices of local produce such as ''bissap'' and ''maad'', and beef charcuterie. In 1981, Basse joined Prime Minister Habib Thiam's office as a technical advisor. At the age of 51, Basse enrolled in the Dakar Business Management School (succeeded by the modern CESAG) and earned an MBA degree in business management (DESGE) in 1983. That year, she joined President Abdou Diouf's office as a technical advisor, an office she held for two years. Basse was a founding member of the Senegalese section of the African Cultural Community, an organization founded by

Wole Soyinka Wole Soyinka , (born 13 July 1934) is a Nigerian author, best known as a playwright and poet. He has written three novels, ten collections of short stories, seven poetry collections, twenty five plays and five memoirs. He also wrote two transla ...

that seeks to aid African intellectuals and artists in adapting to the unique challenges of the modern era.

Death

Basse died in 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Senghor Basse, Marie Senegalese physicians Senegalese women physicians 1930 births 2019 deaths