the toxic truth - Greenpeace

the toxic truth
The dumping of this toxic waste in a developing
country that was barely emerging from several
years of political turmoil following an armed
uprising in 2002, precipitated a political, medical
and environmental crisis that stretched the
government’s response capacities to the limit.
On 28 August 2006, the then Ivorian President,
Laurent Gbagbo, set up an Inter-Ministerial
Committee to coordinate and manage the
emergency response. The scale of the crisis was
such that the government also made a number
of appeals for international assistance. 202
On 6 September 2006, the Prime Minister at
the time, Charles Konan Banny, acknowledged
the gravity of the situation by announcing the
collective resignation of the government. 203
The following day the President reinstated the
Prime Minister, and asked him to form a new
government to tackle the crisis. 204
The medical response
and impacts on health
“ this is the biggest health catastrophe that
Côte d’Ivoire has known. ”
dR JeAN deNoMAN
then Deputy General Director of Health
Between 20 and 23 August, medical facilities
were confronted with a stream of patients
exhibiting similar symptoms, but the medical
staff were not yet aware that hazardous waste
had been dumped at several locations around
Abidjan. The Minister of Health, who was infor-
med of the dumping on 23 August, designated
two university hospitals (Centre Hospitalier
Universitaire or CHUs) to be on alert to treat
patients who may have been affected by exposure
to the waste. The CHU de Treichville and
CHU de Cocody were selected because of their
location in relation to the first three dumpsites
that were discovered (Vridi, Akouédo and
Plateau-Dokui). 205 The Minister also established
a committee, made up of various government
officials with health-related mandates to manage
the health consequences of the toxic waste.
A joint press statement was issued by the
Ministry for Environment and Forestry and the
Ministry of Health, which was broadcast on
radio and TV stations on 24 and 25 August
2006, appealing for people who had been
affected to seek medical help at the CHUs at
Cocody and Treichville. 206
As more dumpsites were discovered, and an
increasing number of people began to arrive
at medical facilities seeking treatment, the
response was expanded. The Ministry of
Health increased the number of designated
treatment centres, and a total of 32 medical
centres backed by 20 mobile medical units
were made available to treat people who
had been exposed to the waste. 207 The
government brought in medical personnel
from other parts of the country to help with
the emergency response, and also involved
private medical facilities in treating people
who had been exposed to the waste. UN
agencies and the Red Cross provided
assistance, and international aid was received
in the form of medicines and the help of
specialists, including experts from the US
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), and experts on the environment and
hazardous waste who were part of the UN
Disaster Assessment and Coordination
(UNDAC) team. 208
The medical emergency caused by the
dumping placed a huge strain on the country’s
resources. By 8 September 2006, 1,000
people a day were seeking treatment at
medical facilities, reporting symptoms linked
to exposure to the toxic waste. This went up to
7,991 people a day at the peak of the medical
emergency (around the middle of September
2006). 209 At this point, the World Health
Organization (WHO) noted:
“ the overwhelming numbers of people
seeking medical attention because of this
chemical waste are severely disrupting medical
services and have resulted in shortages of
210
medicines. ”
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Chapter 5