News

26-08-2026

Ivory Coast: Towards the sustainability of the Tengrela Civil-Military Cell

Since April 2026, the Civil-Military Unit (CCM) in Tengrela has been conducting a large-scale awareness campaign throughout the department, with 30 sessions planned for the communities. The first 18 sessions, held between April and July, have already brought together more than 2100 participants. Discussions focus on issues directly related to security and social cohesion: road safety, agro-pastoral conflicts, transhumance, rumors, citizen vigilance, early warning systems, and the risks associated with illegal gold mining. Female participation is steadily increasing, with nearly 70% of participants in the most recent sessions being women.

These awareness campaigns help to bring about significant behavioral change, ensuring security in a particularly sensitive region. In border areas, the confidentiality guarantees provided by security forces during these campaigns, for example, encourage the reporting of suspicious behavior and help combat rumors. Beyond those directly participating in the awareness sessions, these campaigns also allow the CCM (Central Coordination Mechanism) to identify local partners capable of amplifying prevention messages. Women's networks have proven to be effective channels for disseminating alerts, health prevention information, and civic responsibility messages.

This capacity for action is the result of five years of support from Coginta to the CCM within the framework of the SECORCI project. The support gradually evolved towards consolidating achievements, strengthening capacities, and above all, empowering the unit. CCM members themselves guided the selection of themes and the design of messages and awareness-raising materials – radio spots, picture boxes, and flyers – now used in the field. This ownership is also reflected in more directly autonomous initiatives: the CCM funded and conducted, using its own resources, three mediations addressing land disputes, tensions between transporters and security forces, and a mining dispute. It has also acquired its own visibility tools.

The Tengrela Community Coordination Committee (CCM) is increasingly emerging as a permanent space for dialogue between communities and defense and security forces, capable not only of raising awareness but also of preventing and contributing to the resolution of local tensions. Its growing financial autonomy, made possible in particular by revenue generated from renting the multipurpose hall made available to it, reinforces this dynamic. For the SECORCI 2 project, the challenge has always been to provide it with the necessary skills, resources, and networks to sustainably pursue its actions in service of peace, security, and social cohesion in Tengrela. Everything seems to indicate that this objective has now been achieved.