Burgers Ivoorkust krijgen betere toegang tot gezondheidszorg dankzij hulp EU (en)

European Commission

Press release

Brussels, 27 November 2013

Côte d´Ivoire: people in need get better access to healthcare thanks to innovative EU collaboration on debt reduction

Ivorians will get better maternal and child health services thanks to an €18 million deal on debt reduction between Côte d´Ivoire, France and the European Commission.

The funds will be used to ensure a smooth transition from humanitarian aid to sustainable development in the country's public health services, as Côte d´Ivoire gets back on its feet. The money will be targeted at regions which were the most affected by the fighting which broke out after the disputed 2010 elections.

A debt-reduction and development contract (C2D) signed by France and Côte d´Ivoire in December 2012 has made possible the transfer of €18 million to the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department (ECHO).

" This is the first time that debt-reduction funds from a Member State of the European Union are transferred to ECHO in order to improve the quality and accessibility of maternal and child health services", said Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response. " We are very proud of this collaboration because we are bringing efforts to reduce maternal and child mortality rates together in Côte d´Ivoire while helping the country through the final phase of recovery after the elections."

The assistance will fund for the next three years free national healthcare for a million pregnant women and for children under the age of five.

Background

The "Partnership for Transition" in Ivory Coast was initially established between the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Department and the President of Côte d´Ivoire at the end of 2011. The first phase of this partnership provided support to 2.2 million Ivorians through the provision of €36 million in aid to health care, food security and social cohesion programmes.

The European Commission has provided €99 million in humanitarian aid since the 2010-2011 post-election crisis, reaching more than two million people. 1.5 million people were affected and 3,000 killed during the fighting.

For more information

The European Commission's humanitarian aid and civil protection:

http://ec.europa.eu/echo/index_en.htm

Commissioner Georgieva's website:

http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/georgieva/index_en.htm