Building resilience in the Northeastern Côte d'Ivoire

The project aims to strengthen the resilience of health systems communities and individuals in the Bounkani and Tchologo regions by improving access to quality sexual and reproductive health services as well as to gender- and conflict-sensitive professional training centers. On the one hand the initiative works with health structures and various care providers to improve their capacity to deal with sexual and reproductive health and rights as well as gender-based violence. On the other hand it aims to increase employability and access to financial resources to foster the economic empowerment of young women and mothers. Project activities include: (1) training health providers in identifying and caring for survivors of gender-based violence; (2) providing health facilities with equipment health products and medicines; (3) strengthening the organizational capacities of the Network of Women Mediators (Réseau des femmes médiatrices) in raising awareness and caring for survivors of gender-based violence and in community intervention; and (4) building the capacity of the Women's Training and Education Institutes (instituts de formation et d'éducation féminine) and the Mobile Training Units (Unités mobiles de formation) to offer high-quality and diversified vocational training to women and girls in the Bounkani and Tchologo regions. This initiative directly benefits around 3 040 people (60% of whom are women) and indirectly benefits 180 182 people living in the communities in the 2 regions targeted by the project.

The expected results of this project include: (1) improved the provision of gender- and conflict-sensitive sexual and reproductive health and rights services by health care providers social workers and agents of civil society organizations in the Northeast region; (2) strengthened participation in the promotion of sexual and reproductive health and rights integrating a gender- and conflict-sensitive approach for communities in the Northeast region; and (3) increased access for adolescent girls and young women (aged 16 to 24) to opportunities for skills development employability and resources to foster their economic empowerment.