The Minister of Health, Public Hygiene and Universal Health Coverage, Pierre N'Gou Dimba, recently received in audience a delegation from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, on a working mission to Côte d'Ivoire. The exchanges between the Ivorian health boss and the American envoys focused on six major points, namely the development of health research, training in public and community health, the digitalization of hospital data, the use of health data to improve decision-making, quality management, as well as preparation and response to health crises. This mission, conducted from June 29 to July 2, 2026, aimed to identify concrete partnership opportunities between Côte d'Ivoire and one of the most renowned schools of public health in the world. 

From the first day, the delegation, led by Professor Stéphane Verguet, specialist in health economics, was welcomed at the Angré University Hospital Center. Guided by teams from the Ministry and several national institutions, American experts visited eleven health, university and training structures, both public and private, in order to assess the progress made and to dialogue with professionals in the sector. At the end of the stay, Minister Dimba welcomed the assessments made by his hosts, who praised the quality of health infrastructure, the commitment of professionals and the advances in quality management, research and training. However, he recognized that challenges remain, in particular the retention of skills, the strengthening of professions supporting the health system and the optimization of health data management.

Thus, this mission opens up promising prospects, with the aim of exchange programs, training courses, joint research projects and reinforced collaboration on data management, quality of care and responding to health emergencies. It marks a further step in the Ivorian desire to consolidate its health system through leading academic partnerships.