Vagbama Tambla (center), Mayor of Mankono, and others celebrate the city’s graduation from TCI.
September 2025 marked a proud milestone for Francophone West Africa. Seven cities in Côte d’Ivoire – Anyama, Bingerville, Daloa, Vavoua, Séguéla, Mankono, and Korhogo – together with Lomé in Togo, celebrated their graduation from The Challenge Initiative (TCI). Each city’s two-day graduation was more than a ceremony. On the first day, local leaders, health officials, and community champions came together to design their post-graduation action plans. The second day, the celebrations came alive with city stakeholders and TCI showcasing how years of dedication had transformed family planning and youth reproductive health services.
A Journey of Partnership and Change
Since 2020, TCI has collaborated closely with municipalities and national health programs in Côte d’Ivoire and Togo. The “Business Unusual” approach was simple yet powerful: empower local leaders and health systems to take charge of their own family planning programs. This went beyond technical support. It was about cultivating political will, mobilizing local resources, and strengthening capacity through the training of health workers, master coaches, family planning champions, and advocacy core groups. Over the years, these investments created lasting change across all eight cities. Mayor Fatim Bamba of Anyama shared how this transformation took shape:
With TCI FWA, I was able to secure a USD$10,000 municipal budget line for FP in less than a year and a half. This shows that when local leaders commit resources, build political consensus, and champion women’s and children’s health, we can deliver lasting change. This is not just about services – it is about ensuring a healthier, more resilient future for Anyama.”
Ownership in Action
The results speak for themselves. Local governments not only pledged their support, but they backed it with budgets. In Côte d’Ivoire, Anyama invested nearly USD$20,000, Bingerville USD$17,900, Daloa USD$5,700, Korhogo USD$10,300, Mankono USD$10,000, Séguéla USD$7,900, and Vavoua USD$11,000. Meanwhile, Lomé in Togo made a landmark contribution of USD$130,200 – a bold statement of ownership and sustainability.
Fatim Bamba, Mayor of Anyama, and others celebrate the city’s graduation from TCI.
But the change wasn’t only financial. Across the eight cities, more than 2,000 municipal leaders, health workers, and community advocates were coached to strengthen services and champion family planning. Lomé alone trained 519 people, while Daloa trained 370, Bingerville 280, and Anyama 250. Family planning uptake has also surged, showing how city-led ownership drives measurable results. In Anyama, family planning clients grew from just 7 to over 7,100 within a year. Bingerville saw a leap from 309 to 8,374, while Lomé skyrocketed from 352 in 2022 to more than 8,300 by mid-2025. Even smaller cities like Mankono, which began with negative baselines, now show steady progress – a clear testament to the power of local leadership and persistence. Mayor Vagbama Tambla of Mankono reflected on the value of TCI’s coaching model:
We commend TCI FWA for engaging the city and district stakeholders and equipping them with skills that foster systematic collaboration and inclusive leadership, ultimately improving maternal and child health outcomes.”
From Korhogo, 2nd Deputy Mayor Soro Fara Coulibaly emphasized how the initiative helped city leaders prioritize overlooked health concerns:
Working with TCI enabled us to identify and act on an important health matter we had been overlooking – women’s and youth’s health, especially in family planning.”
Certified for the Future
Graduation marks a milestone but not an ending. The eight cities now stand as certified autonomous implementers under the TCI model, serving as examples of resilience and innovation for the region. Each understands that sustaining and expanding their family planning and adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health programs depends on continued local ownership and leadership. As Dr. Tagba-Pelei Tchilalou, Regional Health Director of Lomé, noted:
Graduation is not an end, but a responsibility – to ensure every woman, adolescent, and child in Greater Lomé continues to access quality, equitable health services.”
With this shared commitment, the eight cities are charting the course for a healthier, more self-reliant future across Francophone West Africa, where local action continues to drive lasting impact.
