COTE D'IVOIRE CONTEXT

Côte d´Ivoire has been going through a socio-political crisis since September 19, 2002. An agreement signed in March 2007 in Ouagadougou opened the door to a return to stability with suppression of the "Confidence Zone", the beginning of dismantling and reintegration of militias and belligerent forces, as well as the pursuit of the identification process. In April 2007, Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, the former rebel leader, created a national union government that included all of the parties. The Minister of Health and Public Hygiene remains Dr Allah Kouadio Remi.

Côte d´Ivoire (20 million inhabitants) is one of the 15 countries that are the most affected by HIV/Aids and holds the "sad record" of the highest prevalence in West Africa with a rate of 4.7% according to EIS 2005. In concrete terms, this means that over 500,000 people are living with the virus and over 78,000 people are in urgent need of ARV therapy.

It should be noted that Côte d´Ivoire has been able to meet certain challenges. Greater access to antiretroviral therapy has given hope to hundreds of PLWHA in Côte d´Ivoire and provided a significant increase in the number of PLWHA receiving ARV therapy from 2,105 in June 2004 to 49,000 in June 2008.

These efforts have been supported by several partners including the Global Fund, PEPFAR and bilateral cooperation agencies. However, the difficulties encountered in the implementation of Round 2 of the Global Fund with its consequences of input breakdowns and interruption of activities at some sites in the country have led to a change in recipients. Since mid-2007, the international NGO CARE has taken over from the UNDP and implemented the second phase of Round 2 which finishes March 2009. The proposal by Côte d´Ivoire for Round 8 was not approved and the country is preparing to submit a new proposal for Round 9.