In Grand Bassam, to the east of the capital, Abidjan, MSF teams worked in the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 treatment centre, strengthening infection prevention and control measures and conducting mental health counselling and psychological follow-up sessions for COVID-19 patients. 

At the university hospital in Bouaké city, we constructed a temporary COVID-19 treatment ward, along with infrastructure to manage infection prevention and control, such as handwashing stations and incinerators. Our teams trained health workers and ran awareness-raising sessions on transmission prevention in the community. We also provided COVID-19 screening at the different entry points to the city. 

In Yopougon treatment centre, in Abidjan, MSF partnered with a local NGO and the Ministry of Health on a pilot telemedicine project. Two MSF teams composed of doctors, nurses and caregivers carried out consultations with COVID-19 patients to detect co-morbidities (diabetes, hypertension, respiratory failure and cardiovascular diseases), using an electronic platform to connect to specialists, such as an internal medicine doctor and a cardiologist, to confirm diagnoses. 

In addition, MSF produced 12,000 cloth masks in partnership with a local business and civil society organisations to distribute to vulnerable people in several locations, including Abidjan. Working with local associations, our teams also distributed cloth masks to patients suffering from kidney failure, diabetes and hypertension.