Ivory Coast, officially the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, is a country of around 31 million people on the southern coast of West Africa. Though now a sovereign state, Ivory Coast is a former French colony; this region is where researchers say humans began contracting retroviruses. While Ivory Coast has made progress in managing the epidemic, the country remains one of the most affected by HIV in West Africa. People in this region are still in dire need of testing, treatment and prevention resources.

Facts About HIV in Ivory Coast

• Around 2% of people in Ivory Coast are living with HIV. However, a quarter of this population is estimated to be undiagnosed.
• The Rate of HIV in Ivory Coast has steadily declined within the past decade, declining from 4.5% in 2006 to 2.7% in 2014.
• Women experience higher rates of HIV than men.
• There is a high proportion of invasive cervical cancer related to HIV.
• Sexual transmission is the primary mode of HIV infection but transmission through breastfeeding remains a significant issue.
• Coinfection of HIV with other human retroviruses, such as Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) and hepatitis viruses B, C and delta, is common in Ivory Coast. However, these coinfections are often inadequately managed, with many patients remaining undiagnosed.
• About 94% of people receiving HIV treatment in Ivory Coast have achieved viral suppression, but access to testing and treatment remains limited.

What’s Being Done

In efforts to support individuals living with HIV and bolster overall public health, humanitarian organizations and individuals alike have initiated programs in the Ivory Coast to aid the epidemic:

• The Center for Solidarity and Social Action (CSAS). CSAS was founded in 1995 in Bouaké to promote a better quality of life for people living with HIV, including children and young people. At the time, the organization had the first program dedicated to children and teenagers living with HIV. While the initiative initially offered psychological support, in the present day, CSAS uses medical treatment for patients.
  
  The organization offers help with the management of STIs, HIV/AIDS screening tests, management of opportunistic infections and access to care and prescriptions. CSAS also leads the PRESERV project, working to improve access to reproductive health and HIV services for young people and vulnerable groups.

• The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS). UNAIDS, a United Nations (U.N.) organization, was established in 1994 to strengthen responses to HIV epidemics on a systematic scale. It aims to head the global effort to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

In Ivory Coast, the program uses educational initiatives to promote HIV prevention and sexual health to support communities. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, UNAIDS partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to provide food and hygiene kits to needy mothers. This partnership seeks to support vulnerable pregnant and breastfeeding women, especially those affected by HIV.

Challenges remain in the prevention and treatment of HIV in Ivory Coast. Nonetheless, the progress achieved through these initiatives highlights civilian organizations’ impact on crisis response when given sufficient support. A maintained emphasis on education, contraception and access to medical care can be effective ways of continuing to rectify HIV.

– Erin Hellhake

Erin is based in Old Bridge, NJ, USA and focuses on Global Health and Politics for The Borgen Project.

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