ADRA Australia Supports Internally Displaced Persons in Cote d'Ivoire
4th July 2011
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Wahroonga, New South Wales — The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Australia is acting to support more than 20,000 internally displaced people following the outbreak of civil war in Cote d’Ivoire.
Following November 2010’s controversial elections more than one million people have been forced to flee their homes as a result of fierce fighting between supporters of opposing political forces. Thousands, particularly in the south-west of the country, have gone without social, economic or medical support for the majority of 2011.In response, ADRA Australia is supporting 20,000 people in the slums and low-income neighbourhoods in Yopougon – an area which has seen some of the fiercest fighting during the last six months. ADRA Australia has committed more than $10,000 to provide much needed medical supplies and equipment to the local community health centre.
“The health centre has been repeatedly looted and vandalised during the last six month’s upheaval,” says Chris Olafson, Director of Emergency Management for ADRA Australia. “It is in complete disrepair and has no medical supplies at all. We are ensuring thousands of vulnerable people will now have access to the urgent medical care they need.”
The breakdown of government and other social structures have left Ivoirians with limited or no access to health services and the World Health Organisation has expressed fear that large scale outbreaks of disease, including cholera, will occur if access to health care is not improved quickly.
“This is a community in desperate need,” says Mr Olafson. “More than one-in-five children under the age of five die every year under normal conditions, let alone these extraordinary circumstances. Anti-retrovirals that support those with HIV and AIDS have not been available for at least two weeks.”
Hygiene-education and psychosocial support will also be provided as part of the larger ADRA project for those who have been affected by the ongoing, volatile situation. The project will be implemented through a partnership with local government departments, volunteers, non-government organisations and community-based organisations.
ADRA Australia is a Christian aid and humanitarian agency that supports communities at home and overseas through a wide range of development and disaster relief activities.
 | ADRA Australia Supports Internally Displaced Persons in Cote d'Ivoire (158 kb) |
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