For years, the Ivory Coast was one of Africa’s most stable countries until war broke out between northern-based insurgents and southern-based government troops in 2002. Fighting was mostly concentrated in the rebel-held north, and thousands of civilians - including up to 90 per cent of doctors - fled the region.
Social services were brought to a standstill as staff fled clinics, hospitals and schools. Currently 700,000 people are displaced and large parts of the population do not have access to essential health and education services. Although the fighting has stopped, the Ivory Coast remains tense and divided. The north’s infrastructure remains in a state of disrepair, and many qualified staff who were displaced during the war have failed to return to their former workplaces.
In the rebel-held northern Korhogo and Bouake Districts where Merlin works, the staffing shortage is so acute that just half of the clinics are run by qualified nurses and around two-thirds of facilities have no midwives. Nearly one in five children die before their fifth birthday and an estimated 570,000 people are living with HIV.
HOW MERLIN IS HELPING:
Merlin began working in the Ivory Coast in 2002, providing emergency health care to around 26,000 people displaced by the conflict. Today, Merlin has four international staff and 37 Ivoriens working in the country.
Refurbishing clinics and hospitals
Merlin is refurbishing clinics and hospitals in the northern Korhogo and Bouake districts. The project aims to rebuild the regional social service infrastructure and to attract qualified staff back to the area. Korhogo Hospital only operates at 50 per cent of its bed capacity. Merlin’s programme aims to boost staff and patient numbers by 70 per cent and benefit one million people who have access to the facility. Merlin is also refurbishing and equipping the Bouake district health office, and improving waste management at three clinics in the same region. In the near future, Merlin will carry out a comprehensive assessment of the region’s health needs and subsequently seek additional funding to meet these needs.
Renovating schools
Merlin is renovating a network of 24 schools throughout Korhogo and Bouake that will benefit 3,400 pupils and help to attract doctors and nurses with children back to the region.
Key achievements
• Benefiting 1,085,731 people indirectly and 120,958 people directly to date
• Renovating three hospitals and 12 clinics since 2004
Donors supporting Merlin's work
Merlin’s work in Ivory Coast is funded by the European Union
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