The market women of the Forum d'Adjamé, the largest shopping center in Côte d'Ivoire, located in the Center of Abidjan, received 3,200 masks on Thursday from BASE, an initiative of the UNESCO Chair "Water, Women and Power of Decisions ”and of the Compendium of female skills of Côte d'Ivoire (COCOFCI), in order to curb the spread of Covid-19.

"The Covid-19 kills" and "each of you must have your mask," launched Ms. Euphrasie Yao, Special Advisor to the Head of State in charge of Gender and President of the BASE Initiative (Love Bank and effective solidarity), whose objective is to create a chain of solidarity to support the vulnerable and underprivileged in the face of the current challenge.

Adjamé's Market Forum, with 15,000 women, has a large number of traders. In constant contact with thousands of buyers and visitors, the BASE Initiative saw fit to give them masks in order to protect them from the pandemic at Covid-19.


These 3,200 protective masks for the general public, made meticulously by the women of the Compendium, were donated by the Gnagne family, one of the BASE members living in Singapore through Gofundme. The heads of the apexes were responsible for relaying the information received, distributing the mufflers to their members as well as to the poor little vendors.

Euphrasie Yao, senior manager of the BASE initiative, stressed that her presence alongside these developmental champions who risk their lives to provide for their families' basic needs is a response to heart cries.


These cries of the heart, she will say, emanate from a citizen of passage in the commune of Adjamé and shocked by the report of assembly and the non wearing of protective masks. Faced with the dilemma of "staying at home and starving or braving the coronavirus to feed your family", the choice of traders was quickly made on the second option.

Guided by this slogan "Because no one should die because of me", the Love and Effective Solidarity Bank (BASE) has been stepping up since Thursday April 23, 2020 direct actions targeting vulnerable and destitute populations.


These activities aimed in particular to sensitize the managers of the 10 umbrellas of the Adjamé Market Forum so that they serve as relays and pass on to their various associations as well as to small poor vendors, the importance of their involvement and ownership of barrier measures.

Before the symbolic presentation of the 3200 masks, the adviser of the Head of State in charge of Gender, also presented the BASE Initiative which she says is a citizen movement, an investment in human capital based on the leadership of women, men and young people to contribute to the national effort to address the vulnerability of populations exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.


Happy with this initiative which directly affects the beneficiary populations and lets glimpse the values of social justice, the heads of the apexes, through the voice of Mrs Tanoh, president of the association of store owners, welcomed the noble and commendable actions taken by the base.

As a reminder, the BASE Initiative in its direct actions towards vulnerable populations, had offered in mid-May a batch of insulin to the diabetes clinic of the University Hospital Center (CHU) of Treichville, in the South of Abidjan , in order to support diabetic subjects weakened by the Covid-19 pandemic and thus contribute to the establishment of an insulin bank.