Health in Algeria a Growing Concern

Poor sanitation and unclean water in Algeria have caused tuberculosis, hepatitis, measles, typhoid fever, cholera and dysentery. Sure sounds like an unpleasant place to be, especially when you're the ruler over this country with unsanitary conditions.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika falls out of sight for weeks at a time, and was notably silent when suicide bombs tore through two important buildings in Algiers, one housing UN offices. That rang alarm bells about his health and questions about his political plans for a country he has sought to stabilize.

Is the 70-year-old Bouteflika, who has been treated for a stomach ailment, still sick? Or is this a strategy to prolong his presidency? Or is it something more cryptic?

Earlier this year, Bouteflika escaped a bomb attack where he was reportedly the target. This attempt was perhaps one effort to give a very public death to someone who has been less than overly concerned about public health.

[Taipei Times]