CARE is scaling up its response to help people affected by the post-election violence in Côte d'Ivoire. Violence has besieged the country for months.
The country has been in the grip of a political crisis since a disputed election between Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara last year. Despite reports that the crisis might be coming to an end, fighting continues.
In recent days, fighting in the region escalated. Some 1,300 are dead. Meanwhile more than 100,000 refugees have fled to Liberia and 5,000 have fled to Ghana. The refugees' needs consist mostly of food, clean water and sanitation services.
CARE's response in Côte d'Ivoire has focused on providing water and sanitation services to internally displaced people in the area to help to decrease the risk of cholera, typhoid, yellow fever, and malaria and other waterborne diseases. CARE distributed a two-week supply of water to over 2,300 families in Duekoue and chlorinated 125 wells in Man city. CARE has also supported garbage collection services in camps for people displaced from their homes in Man and Duekoue. CARE is currently assessing water and sanitation services in Korogho and Bouake, where people are moving from Abidjan. As well as gathering information in Bouake to assess numbers of people passing through, how long they stay at a site before moving on and what they most need.
CARE is in discussion with the World Food Programme to distribute protein biscuits to internally displaced people at transit points in Bouake and other locations.
"Things are changing rapidly but we are working to respond to the needs of the people," said Amadou Sayo, CARE's Regional Emergency Coordinator for West and Southern Africa.