Consolidating greater social cohesion and political stability in Cote d'Ivoire in the run-up to the October 2015 presidential elections.

Why USAID/OTI is in Cote D’Ivoire

USAID/OTI launched the Côte d’Ivoire Transition Initiative (CITI) program in September 2011 after post-election violence which claimed 3,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands. The country has made enormous progress in its transition to peace and stability after over 10 years of civil conflict, but it faced a critical test during the October 2015 presidential elections. These recent elections — the first since the 2010 violence — were peaceful but had the potential to exacerbate enduring tensions around nationality and identity.

In recent years, Côte d’Ivoire has regained its position as a major diplomatic and economic leader in the sub-region. Given all the challenges facing West Africa including Ebola, civil conflicts and terrorist threats across the Sahel, Côte d’Ivoire’s stability is vital to the broader U.S. Government strategy of supporting a more resilient Africa, with strong and stable regional leaders like Côte d’Ivoire.

USAID/OTI’S Role in Cote D’Ivoire

USAID/OTI’s work in Côte d’Ivoire consists of two phases. Phase I (Sept. 2011 – Aug. 2014) supported confidence in the post-conflict recovery process, through support to the re-establishment of the state and its connection with the communities it served. Phase II (June 2014 to the present) places particular emphasis on supporting a peaceful, inclusive and credible electoral process through capacity-building of electoral institutions, improved access to credible information and increased intercommunity dialogue. USAID/OTI has been addressing social cohesion and its role in political stability. Through addressing community grievances and equipping communities with the tools to access, analyze and share accurate information, its activities work to make communities more cohesive and resilient to political manipulation.

Program Highlights

CITI works at the local level in the most volatile areas of the country to address issues that destabilize communities. CITI helps communities and state actors find mutually beneficial solutions to create more resilient communities:

• Partnering with university students, designed and painted murals in two of Abidjan's marginalized neighborhoods to raise awareness of the electoral process and promote peaceful elections. With visually striking images, the murals targeted not fully literate residents at high visibility and high traffic sites.
• Produced a TV series to promote women's participation in the elections; and
• Sponsored a concert to promote a peaceful climate in the highly volatile transport sector ahead of the elections. The singer's new single targets youth and young urban transporters, who are seen as some of the main perpetrators of the 2010-2011 post-electoral violence.