General tensions remain and may lead to isolated clashes not directly linked to the elections situation. In Duékoué in the west of the country, fighting that erupted on Jan. 3 resulted in many people injured and more than 12,000 people displaced from their homes as they fled the violence. In support of the general hospital in the city, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams have treated 53 wounded in five days and are currently running primary healthcare services in the camps for internally displaced people.

Since Jan. 3, MSF has been supporting the city hospital as a large number of medical personnel are missing. Between Jan. 3 and Jan. 7, a surgical team treated more than 53 wounded, with two patients dying from their injuries. MSF is currently renovating the operating room and is working to improve the hospital water supply. The medical team will continue its technical support to the hospital in the coming days.

Primary health care to displaced people

The situation calmed down over the weekend of Jan. 8 and 9. Nevertheless, many people remain displaced. Since Jan. 6 an MSF team has carried out an average of 50 primary healthcare consultations daily, particularly for malaria and hypertension, in a makeshift camp where 12,300 displaced people have gathered just outside the town of Duékoué. Seven people have been transferred to hospital.

Outpatient activities in the camp are expected to continue for several weeks. An assessment of health needs will determine the possibilities of starting an MSF project.

MSF opened its first project in Ivory Coast in 1991. Present in MACA prison in Abidjan, in the city of Bouaké, as well as in the western regions, the teams offered primary healthcare (outpatient department, vaccinations) and secondary healthcare activities (surgery, paediatrics), a nutrition project and a tuberculosis treatment program. MSF handed over its remaining projects in Ivory Coast in September 2007 when the situation in the country had stabilized.

Ivory Coast © Andrea Bussotti / MSF
An MSF doctor examines a patient during a consultation in January 2007 in the region of Guiglo, Ivory Coast.

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