The first members of WHO's international team arrived in Abidjan this week to support the Ministry of Health in dealing with an environmental health emergency caused by toxic waste.
A clinical toxicologist has already arrived and will be joined today by an environmental health specialist.
A further technical specialist will join the team in a few days time. The WHO team will be assisting the WHO country office in several tasks, including:
- Coordinating response to the public health consequences of the crisis.
- Carrying out an initial risk assessment and proposing measures to prevent further exposure of the population to the chemicals, and working with partners to accelerate the removal of the waste
- Working on a clear messages for the general public to guide them on how to avoid exposure and when to seek medical help.
- Advising on the organization of medical care, including developing a clinical management protocol, and initiating basic epidemiological surveillance.
- Helping identify and deliver much-needed supplies for an overtaxed healthcare system.
The clinical toxicologist has been in the field, talking to physicians and patients to determine the extent and severity of poisoning. To date the symptoms reported have included nosebleeds, nausea and vomiting, headaches, skin lesions, eye irritation and respiratory symptoms. These are consistent with exposure to the chemicals known to be in the waste.
WHO is in regular contact with hospitals and health centres to evaluate the burden being placed upon the health care system by this emergency. In Cocody, on 11th of September alone, over 1000 people attended the teaching hospital for assessment and treatment. At Yopougon teaching hospital 600 people are attending daily, and at the Akouedo Health Centre, an average of 300 people are consulting daily, including many children and young infants. This is double the usual workload and almost all of the personnel of the hospitals and clinics have been diverted to receive these patients, such that regular consultations have all-but-ceased.
The overwhelming numbers of people seeking medical attention because of this chemical waste are severely disrupting medical services and have resulted in shortages of medicines. This has put a double burden on the already weak health system of Cote d'Ivoire. This crisis has shown that the country does not have the capacity to deal with such an emergency.