Bonjour from Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire!
Bonjour from Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire! I arrived here over the weekend to start a three-week visit coinciding with the launch of our new PEPFAR project, which will expand our current activities into two new regions and seven new districts. We started off the week like they do every week here in our Côte d'Ivoire office: with an all staff meeting. But this week, with all the new staff hired to do work in the Vallée du Bandama, les Savanes, and the Zanzan regions, we had to find a room big enough to accommodate our more than doubled staff size!
To give a little background, HAI has been working in Côte d'Ivoire (or "CI") since 2007. We started with an assessment of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) services in Bouaké in central CI. You can read more about CI's recent challenges and civil conflict here.
Since 2007, we have worked with the Ministry of Health here to improve and expand PMTCT services throughout 7 districts and 30 facilities. Now, instead of having to make 8 different visits to get HIV testing, results, get started on antiretrovirals and so forth, women now get HIV testing and care as part of their regular prenatal care. We are also supporting the Ministry of Health to provide general HIV testing, care, and treatment; health systems strengthening; and psychosocial support services for people living with HIV.
A few months ago, we got a grant from PEPFAR to build on our existing activities in the Vallée du Bandama. For the next five years, we will also support facilities in the northern regions of Savanes and Zanzan.
The challenges of this expansion are many. Not only do we have a flurry of hiring (see Esther Bakor, our Human Resources Coordinator, among the piles of CVs), but there are two new regional offices to set up, supplies to purchase, staff to train, and most importantly, work to start!
At the end of the staff meeting, facilitated by Country Director Dr. Albert Bakor with the assistance of Clinical Advisor Dr. Seydou Kouyaté, the team drew up their plans for the week.
Two teams of HAI-CI staff will crisscross the region. The midwives, led by Mme Djeneba Toure and Mme Oussou Kouakou, will work with their Ministry of Health counterparts to strengthen HIV testing services for pregnant women when they visit health facilities for prenatal consultations. The psychosocial support workers, led by Atta Bamba Kouassi, will work with Ministry of Health nurses to strengthen general HIV testing and attend psychosocial support groups for people living with HIV and AIDS. Meanwhile, in Bouaké, the central administrative team is working around the clock to get our new offices ready for our amazing teams to begin work in the new sites.
I am, as always, overwhelmed by the dedication and strength of our staff. I'll post more from the field as I have more to share about our expanding partnership with the Ministry of Health.
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