Most of the health services of Gabon are public, but there are some private institutions, of which the best known is the hospital established in 1913 in Lambaréné by Albert Schweitzer. The hospital is now partially subsidized by the Gabonese government.
Gabon is divided into nine provinces, which they are further subdivided into 50 departments. The president appoints the provincial governors, the prefects, and the subprefects.
The main river in Gabon, Ogooue River, arcs across the entire country, with major tributaries including Ivindo and Mpassa. Its mouth is at Port Gentil, on the Atlantic Coast, and it originates in the Republic of the Congo.