Embassy NewsCentre

Embassy News

Ambassador Hooks, Miss Cote d'Ivoire and New Forces authorities (Photo: Soro Yacouba/US Embassy)

Breaking Boundaries: Ambassador and Miss Cote d’Ivoire Launch American Emergency Plan in New Forces Territory

Miss Cote d’Ivoire Alima Diomande joined Ambassador Aubrey Hooks in Bouake to launch the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief’s (American Emergency Plan) in the regions currently under the control of the New Forces.  The 2.5 billion CFA initiative for the North and West of Cote d’Ivoire will help to restore a health sector that has been badly affected by the conflict and will provide needed support to campaigns to prevent new infections, treat those already infected, and offer care for orphans and vulnerable children affected by the epidemic. 

“The American Emergency Plan will bring needed relief to areas too long neglected and will help to replace despair with hope,” said U.S. Ambassador Aubrey Hooks of the program that is being implemented by the American NGO CARE International.  “AIDS does not respect artificial boundaries or make distinctions between social class, race, or ethnicity.  That is why we must all join hands to bring our fight against this virus to every corner of the country.”

The Ambassador AND  Miss Cote d’Ivoire led a kilometer march with over 300 residents from Bouake to an AIDS testing center, where she and the Ambassador were given an AIDS test.  It sent a powerful message through the streets of Bouake and across the country about the importance of knowing your AIDS status.  This march capped off a 1,300 kilometer caravan that she had lead through the North of the country with the Embassy, the Ministry of the Fight Against AIDS, and the NGO REPMASCI.  It was a trip that held both great symbolic and substantive importance.  She was making her first trip to the North since her election as the reigning beauty of the divided country and she brought with her an important message that will help to empower women and put men on notice.

“I will not go out with someone who doesn’t know there status and I encourage young people like me to do the same,” Ms. Diomande said during stops in Korhogo, Kombourdougou, Ferkessedougou, and Bouake.