Djariatou Traoré, Executive Vice President for Sustainable Development and Operations at the Endeavour Group, has called on residents of Zouan-Hounien to take greater ownership of local health initiatives.
Her remarks came during the medical caravan organized from July 9 to 11 across Kouèpleu, Floleu, and Tièpleu 1, as part of the company’s Environment, Health, and Governance (ESG) Week.
The mobile health campaign, now in its annual cycle, is part of Endeavour Mining’s broader strategy to deliver sustainable development projects in countries where it operates—namely Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Senegal.
This year, the 2025 edition has shifted its focus toward maternal and neonatal health, following the success of the 2024 initiative, which prioritized eye care.
“With this caravan, we’re bringing health back to the people. We’ve moved doctors and nurses into the communities. So I’m really calling on the different villages to come out. Come out in large numbers, come get a consultation, it’s free,” Traoré urged during the event.
She explained that the medical teams were offering specialized consultations in prenatal and postnatal care, gynecology, and pediatrics.
The goal, she said, is not only to provide immediate care but also to reinforce community awareness around the importance of health and accessibility.
“Health services must not remain confined to distant centers,” she emphasized. “We want the communities to feel these services are theirs—to embrace them, use them, and advocate for them.”
In 2024, more than 2,000 people benefited from the caravan’s eye health campaign, with over 1,400 patients receiving treatment and 150 undergoing cataract surgery.
The 2025 rollout, led in partnership with the Endeavour Foundation, local NGO OHADA, and the Zouan-Hounien health district, aims to reach an even broader demographic, particularly women and children in remote areas.
Traoré reaffirmed that the success of such initiatives depends on the active participation of local communities.
“It is only when people take ownership of health solutions that we achieve sustainable impact,” she concluded.
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