This case study documents how the Red Cross of Côte d’Ivoire (CRCI), with support from IFRC and Movement partners, responded to the country’s first cholera outbreak in 15 years using the Red Cross Red Crescent Case Area Targeted Interventions (RC-CATI) approach.
Confirmed in May 2025 in the coastal fishing village of Vridi Ako, Abidjan District, the outbreak reached 556 cases and 24 deaths across six health districts by 20 October.
The study sets out how household-level interventions, disinfection, social mobilisation and active case finding were combined with the country’s first-ever reactive Oral Cholera Vaccination (OCV) campaign, and what this locally-led response achieved between June and October 2025.
Key points
- RC-CATI combines household visits and rapid risk assessment, targeted disinfection, social mobilisation and referral of severe cases to interrupt transmission at the point where cases appear.
- 193 volunteers reached 42,587 people through social mobilisation (including 21,590 women) and identified and referred 219 severe cases to health facilities.
- Disinfection covered 399 boats, 81 motorcycle taxis, 271 public latrines and 304 households of cholera cases, reflecting transmission risks specific to a lagoon fishing community.
- Integrating RC-CATI with the national OCV campaign proved mutually reinforcing: volunteers handled door-to-door outreach, rumour management and adverse event follow-up. The two should be planned together from the outset.
- The outbreak was contained in five of six affected districts and extinguished in Vridi Ako, despite it being the point of origin.
- Trust was the central constraint and the central asset: deaths were initially attributed to spiritual causes, and consistent, culturally sensitive engagement with influential community leaders was needed to shift perceptions.
- The main operational lesson is to train staff and volunteers in RC-CATI before an outbreak, rather than building capacity mid-response.
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