Story

Abidjan: Post-War Health Care

May 20, 2011 | Pulitzer Center
By
Peter DiCampo

A man who lost his leg to a bullet wound during post-election violence is bathed by his wife in Abobo Sud Hospital in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Image by Peter DiCampo. Ivory Coast, 2011.

Patients rest on the floor of the overcrowded maternity ward in Abobo Sud Hospital. What is normally a 12-bed hospital is now hosting more than 130 patients, and hospital and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF or Doctors Without Borders) staff have made use of every available space to accommodate patients. Image by Peter DiCampo. Ivory Coast, 2011.

Crowds queue at the outpatient clinic in Abobo Sud Hospital. A week after the end of the military standoff in Abidjan, very few hospitals are open. During the height of fighting, people were stuck in their homes for up to a month without access to health care. Image by Peter DiCampo. Ivory Coast, 2011.

A young man, who suffered a gunshot wound during post-election violence, reacts during surgery to repair a splintered bone in his leg in Abobo Sud Hospital. Throughout the recent conflict, MSF has been supporting Abobo Sud Hospital, treating 25-30 conflict-related wounded every day from mid-March to mid-April. Image by Peter DiCampo. Ivory Coast, 2011.

An MSF surgeon in Nana Yamousso Hospital, Abidjan, examines a man's hand, which was injured by a grenade explosion. MSF provides surgery and wound treatment for people injured during post-election violence, especially those who were unable to get treated at the time. Image by Peter DiCampo. Ivory Coast, 2011.

An injured soldier is carried into Abobo Sud Hospital. Although the country's presidential standoff is over, pockets of violence remain in the city and across the country. Image by Peter DiCampo. Ivory Coast, 2011.

A soldier who was injured by a gunshot is rushed into the operating room for surgery in Abobo Sud Hospital. Image by Peter DiCampo. Ivory Coast, 2011.

A woman has her wound re-dressed in Nana Yamousso Hospital. Image by Peter DiCampo. Ivory Coast, 2011.

A patient who was injured during post-election violence sleeps on the floor of an overcrowded ward in Abobo Sud Hospital. What is normally a 12-bed hospital is now hosting more than 130 patients, and hospital and MSF staff have made use of every available space to accommodate patients. Image by Peter DiCampo. Ivory Coast, 2011.

A patient is carried to an operating theater in Abobo Sud Hospital for re-dressing of his wounds. Image by Peter DiCampo. Ivory Coast, 2011.

A surgical team performs a C-section during a power cut in Abobo Sud Hospital. Image by Peter DiCampo. Ivory Coast, 2011.

Overcrowding in a ward in Abobo Sud Hospital. Image by Peter DiCampo. Ivory Coast, 2011.

A young man who was injured during post-election violence walks with crutches in Abobo Sud Hospital. Image by Peter DiCampo. Ivory Coast, 2011.

A young man rests in a ward full of patients who were injured during post-election violence, Abobo Sud Hospital. Image by Peter DiCampo. Ivory Coast, 2011.

A sick child sleeps on the floor of an overcrowded ward in Abobo Sud Hospital in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. During the height of fighting, people were stuck in their homes for up to a month without access to health care. Image by Peter DiCampo. Ivory Coast, 2011.

From mid-March to mid-April, post-election violence in Ivory Coast reached a boiling point in Abidjan as forces loyal to presidential challenger Alassane Ouattara made a final siege on the city. During most of this time, civilians were unable to leave their homes. Medical treatment was unavailable not only for conflict-related injuries, but also for basic health care needs. Immediately after former president Laurent Gbagbo was arrested and relative stability returned to the city, hospitals were inundated with patients whose prolonged lack of medical care turned normal problems into dire emergencies.