Mission Ivory Coast

The announcement of the appointment of Charles Konan Banny, hitherto the governor of the Central Bank of West African States, to the post of Prime Minister, and the maintenance of the ceasefire by a major international military arrangement have given reason to hope that the overall situation in the country will improve. But it remains divided in two: the north, under the control of the New Forces, and the south, controlled by the loyalist forces. The social and economic situation is improverishing the population. In Abidjan, since the departure of a significant number of Europeans, economic activities have collapsed, leading to disastrous unemployment and just as disastrous living conditions for under-age children living on the streets.

Protecting street children

Abidjan

Activities:

MdM has been working with minors since 1996. The current project has three objectives:

• the protection and resocialisation of street children and minors in prison;
• access to primary healthcare;
• support for a local NGO: MESAD, Movement for Education, Health and Development.

Its work involves :

• a process for resocialising children through street work, accommodation in a reception centre, psychosocial monitoring, support for professional integration and schooling, and re-establishing family contacts;
• offering primary healthcare to children on the street and support for medical treatment at the Treichville health centre;
• work amongst minors in Abidjan prison with the aim of improving their living conditions, providing physical, psychological and legal protection for minors deprived of freedom, facilitating their reintegration on leaving prison;
• specific STI/HIV prevention activities.

Outlook:

With financial assistance from Médecins du Monde, the local NGO MESAD is continuing work developed by MdM between December 1996 and June 2003. Since July 2003, the local NGO has been seeking funding to ensure it can provide the full programme. The country's instability does not encourage funders to fund such programmes.

Allowing access to healthcare

Seguela

Activities:

This post-emergency programme is aimed at providing support for the Seguela regional hospital which is in a “rebel-held area”. The region is suffering from a breakdown in the supply of drugs, especially as most senior medical staff have left for the south. Thanks to supplies of drugs, small medical equipment and to expatriate surgical teams (surgeons and anaesthetists), the Regional Hospital has been able to start working again.

Outlook:
A new project in another hospital is now being developed but will depend on how the crisis develops and on political stabilisation, vital
conditions for activities restarting throughout the country, and especially for receiving supplies of drugs and medical staff returning to their posts.

Access to surgical and obstetric care

Touba

Activities:

This post-emergency programme is aimed at providing surgical support to Touba hospital in a “rebel-held area”, cut off from the rest of the country since the disturbances of September 2002. Treatment of trauma and obstetric emergencies does not exist and most qualified senior medical staff have left for the southern area. MdM's involvement in providing specific drugs and small medical equipment and in renovating the operating theatre and surgery department, should allow local staff still in the area to work in good conditions. The presence of an expatriate team made up of an anaesthetist, doctor, logistician and administrator has allowed the hospital to re-start a minimum of its activities interrupted during the conflict. Working with local and institutional staff, these activities should allow better care of pregnant women and the injured, in the hospital as well as in the supported health centres.

Outlook:

As the minimum operating conditions required had not been met due to lack of collaboration between the head, doctor and the nurses, the project was terminated as of 31 December 2005.

July 2006