Ivory Coast was one of 13 countries selected for the first round of grants from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization. This was to be a beachhead for Bill Gates' worldwide assault on childhood disease. Riots and killings exploded on the streets of Abidjan, the financial hub of Africa's international coffee and cocoa trade, after a flawed national election last fall.
Civil unrest continues to erupt sporadically like a festering boil.
From the windows of his office in downtown Abidjan, Robert DeWolfe watched as soldiers, accompanied by armored personnel carriers, patrolled the street. Watching, waiting, are about all he's been able to do here for half a year. He came here to help the government introduce the hepatitis B vaccine, improve vaccine safety and boost immunization rates beyond 50 percent. Robert DeWolfe Instead, DeWolfe has had to struggle just to open a functioning office in Abidjan, stymied for months from even opening a bank account. This job is difficult enough without all this.