On Tuesday, January 27, 2026, the Yopougon Millionnaire Extension (YME) Mixed Health Center hosted a transdisciplinary workshop bringing together Ivorian and Swiss experts to discuss health challenges related to climate change in Côte d'Ivoire. This event was part of the scientific cooperation between the Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire (CSRS), the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), and Nangui ABROGOUA University (UNA).

The workshop, opened by Dr. Serge Adouan, Director of the YME Joint Health Center, marked the official launch of major public health research projects conducted in close collaboration with his new health center.

The Yopougon Urban Lab (YopouLab) platform, presented by V. Pessoa Colombo, E. Kouakou, and S. Berté, aims to establish the first urban Demographic and Health Surveillance System (DHSS) in Côte d'Ivoire in Yopougon. The goal is to establish a research-action platform that links decision-making to granular data on intra-urban health inequalities in order to address multiple and interconnected challenges, including urban heat islands, water shortages and sanitation issues, and growing demographic pressure. This urban DHMS will complement the rural DHMS already established in Taabo, enabling comparative studies between urban and rural areas.

The program “Climate Change and Health: Challenges and Opportunities for Building Resilience in Switzerland and the Global South” (CHHeSS), presented by M. Ragettli and D. Jeannetot, focuses on strengthening the resilience of populations to heat. CHHeSS uses complementary methodological approaches and large-scale primary care data to study the impact of heat on health and co-create evidence-based adaptation strategies.

The workshop brought together 19 participants, including Prof. Jürg Utzinger (Director of Swiss TPH), Prof. Benjamin Koudou (Director of Research and Development at CSRS), and Deborah Attolini from the Swiss Embassy. This meeting helped to consolidate Ivorian-Swiss collaboration and lay the foundations for research focused on public health impacts.

Joseph Anoh/CelCom