Côte d'Ivoire

Côte d'Ivoire (sometimes called the Ivory Coast) is located in western sub-Saharan Africa on the Gulf of Guinea between Liberia and Ghana. For many years, it was looked upon as the economic jewel of the region and was among the world's leading exporters of coffee, cocoa, and palm oil. However, in 2002, armed conflict broke out between the government and the Forces Nouvelles (FN). This ongoing struggle for control led to the implementation of an internationally monitored “confidence line” between the FN in the north and the government in the south. Now trapped in a situation described as “no peace, no war,” millions of Ivoirians have faced displacement and abuse as the nation's economy and infrastructure have fallen into ruin.

[Page 454]The population of Côte d'Ivoire is 17.7 million and growing at 2.03 percent annually. The birth rate is 35.11 per 1,000 residents and the death rate is 14.84 per 1,000. Only 45 percent of the population live in urban areas. Life expectancy at birth is extremely low, at 41 years for males and 47 years for females. Healthy life expectancy is 37 years for men and 41 years for women. Infant mortality is high, with 117 deaths per 1,000 live births. Maternal mortality is 690 per 100,000 live births. In 2004, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimated that 68 percent of women had the services of a trained attendant at birth, and that percentage may have dropped as the civil unrest has continued. The average Ivoirian woman gives birth to 4.5 children; only 15 percent of women use birth control.

The condition of Ivoirian children is dire. Only 50 percent are immunized against common childhood illnesses; in the north, most immunization programs were entirely shut down until UNICEF and other aid organizations moved in. The mortality rate for children between the ages of 1 and 5 years rose from 157 per 1,000 children in 1995 to 194 per 1,000 in 2004—among the highest mortality rates in the world.

Between the AIDS epidemic that has gripped the country over the last decade and ongoing civil war, there are an estimated 940,000 orphans under the age of 17. An estimated 3,000 children are serving as soldiers. Millions have been displaced. All of these factors leave children vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse and exploitation.

Female genital mutilation is practiced in Côte d'Ivoire, with an estimated 39 percent of urban females and 48 percent of rural females having been cut in this way. The most common procedure is type II, defined as the removal of the clitoris and all or part of the labia minora.

The country's infrastructure has failed or fallen into disrepair, and at best 84 percent of the population has access to clean water and 40 percent have sanitary waste disposal. This has contributed to severe outbreaks of cholera and typhoid in the past two years. Malaria is common, as is yellow fever; hepatitis A, B, and E; schistosomiasis; and trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness). There have been Ebola outbreaks within the country, although none in recent years.

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