Around 1% of the population in Ivory Coast could be affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to estimates from the World Health Organisation. ASD is an often taboo subject, however, and treatment is hard to come by as the country severely lacks the necessary medical resources to help patients. FRANCE 24's Sophie Lamotte and Ange Nomenyo report from Bouaké.
Local health workers in Ivory Coast travel long distances to rural areas of the country to provide assistance to autistic children and their families. Poorly acknowledged and under-diagnosed, ASD affects the lives of many on the southern coast of West Africa and is often stigmatised by Ivorians.
