Last Friday in Ivory Coast, on the occasion of a meeting with partners and authorities gathered at the Anonkoua-Kouté Health Center, we delivered medical equipment to three facilities located in the municipality of Abobo, Abidjan.
The donated materials, designated for the neonatal wards of Anonkoua-Kouté Hospital, the Saints Cœurs de Clouetcha General Confessional Hospital, and the Houphouët Boigny Regional Hospital, will enable these facilities to improve their neonatal care and services. The equipment and devices provided include oxygen therapy and suction devices, masks and ventilation equipment, diagnostic instruments, and monitoring tools.
In Ivory Coast, maternal and neonatal mortality indicators remain alarming: 16 million newborns die within the first month of life, half of them on the first day. The main causes are prematurity (30.1%), asphyxia (27.6%), and infections (20%) (EDS-CI 2021).
With an estimated population of approximately 750,000, Abobo represents a rapidly growing urban area. In this context, healthcare needs are increasing while resources and facility management capacities remain severely limited. Hence, the project “Ensuring Quality Neonatal Care in Abobo, Abidjan,” implemented in collaboration with the Paolo Chiesi Foundation and with the technical support of the Ministry of Health, Public Hygiene, and Universal Health Coverage (MSHP-CMU). This initiative aligns perfectly with the National Health Development Plan, which aims to reduce maternal, neonatal, and child mortality by 2025.
“The initiative we are celebrating today is a first step. It is equally important to continue working together, creating integrated health systems where facilities communicate with each other to bridge disparities, where staff are continuously supported, trained, and evaluated based on performance. To achieve these strategic goals, it is essential to pursue ever greater synergy and coordination among key actors: institutional ones, such as the National Maternal and Child Health Program (PNSME), and technical and financial partners, such as Doctors with Africa Cuamm and the Paolo Chiesi Foundation,” said Dr. Meité, Director of the Directorate for Nursing, Maternal, and Child Care at the Ivorian Ministry of Health.
