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Health Care in Comoros

Health Care in ComorosAs one of the poorest countries in the world, Comoros experiences numerous challenges. This is exacerbated by the country’s history of political instability and a devastating socioeconomic climate. Poor health care has both a dramatic effect on the lifespan of Comorians and on their quality of life.

Political Instability and Health Care

The nation has struggled with political unrest since its independence from France on July 6, 1975. Because of recent laws, the average duration of each government has not been longer than six months. These political fluctuations have caused a major toll on health care in Comoros. 

During these 41 years of political unrest, Comoros experienced 21 coups, causing a massive health care crisis among the islands. These turbulent years made it harder to implement institutions that provide medical care to all people no matter their socio-economic status. 

Health Care Workers

Often, very skilled medical workers choose to migrate out of Comoros. Additionally, ever since its independence, the islands have struggled to distribute health care workers evenly across the country. This demands imperative action in Comoros to increase health care workers and organize better health care distribution processes so all people in Comoros can access safe and effective health care.

Health Issues

A weak health care system leads to illnesses and disorders that go undiagnosed or untreated. In Comoros, the most common health issues include malaria, diarrhea, diabetes, intestinal parasites, respiratory infections and HIV/AIDS, which is less common but equally fatal. These diseases and illnesses left untreated cause significant deaths, most commonly in children and pregnant women. 

The revival of old diseases like cholera, chikungunya, malaria and HIV/AIDS points to the political turmoil playing a big role in the poor health services in Comoros. It isn’t just diseases that cause health issues in Comorians, however. Over the years, children have continued to die from chronic malnutrition, illustrating the adverse state of poverty the nation is in. 

What is the Problem?

The years of political instability in Comoros have had drastic effects on poverty and health care. As there is no national health insurance in Comoros, the average Comorian will pay 45% of the cost of a health visit out of pocket. This elite group highlights the economic disparities people face in Comoros. Due to the national poverty levels, 60% of health workers in public facilities are unpaid volunteers.

Help in Times of Hardship

Because of the urgent need for a change of health care in Comoros, in 2019, the World Bank approved the Comprehensive Approach to Health System Strengthening Project (COMPASS). It has invested $30 million into the improvement of primary health care in Comoros. Its goal is to prioritize delivering aid to women and children under the age of five as well as to the general population.

The World Bank continues to reinforce better health care in Comoros by providing more accessible and affordable services to the general public. The organization creates better health institutions, trains more workers and provides rehabilitation services to patients. The World Bank also has also given Comoros a large quantity of equipment and vehicles that help medical workers on the islands. The project hopes to deliver quality and time-efficient care to patients with disease and illness outbreaks in Comoros. 

Comoros Takes Action

In recent years, Comoros has fought to control malaria, and the nation is close to succeeding, currently in the pre-elimination phase. Furthermore, the Comoros government has worked to reduce health care costs by more than 40% since 2010. 

Moreover, the islands have adopted a new national health policy for the period of 2015-2024. This initiative aims to end the cycle of poverty keeping people from accessing the health care that they need in Comoros. By creating more accessible health care the country can help combat the rising amount of devastating diseases that create a huge toll on the population. 

– Marina Blatt
Photo: Flickr

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5 Facts About Poverty in Comoros

5 Facts About Poverty in Comoros
Comoros continues to struggle today with extreme poverty, unemployment and a severe wealth gap. The country has undergone more than 20 successful or attempted coups, as well as facing a devastating cyclone. Poverty in Comoros continues to require immediate attention. Here are five facts about poverty in Comoros.

5 Facts About Poverty in Comoros

  1. Poverty in Comoros affects almost half the population. The African Development Bank Group reports that 44.1% of people in Comoros live in poverty and they typically earn only 25,341 Comorian francs or less monthly. In addition, 23.5% of people in Comoros live in extreme poverty. However, data from The World Bank places “Comoros ahead of other low-income countries and 30 percentage points ahead of other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.”
  2. Rural areas suffer disproportionately compared with urban areas. Comoros’s economy relies primarily on agriculture. Its three main export crops are vanilla, cloves and ylang-ylang. Additionally, agriculture accounts for 50% of Comoros’s GDP and supports most of its workforce. However, the country’s rural areas are typically its poorest and about 50% of Comoros’s people do not have enough to eat.
  3. Education in Comoros faces challenges. In 2018, Comoros reported a secondary education enrollment rate of 59.47% of all eligible children. In addition, only 58.82% of people in Comoros older than 15 years old could claim literacy in 2018. This is low compared to the global average of 86.3% for this age group.
  4. Relief efforts for Cyclone Kenneth could improve poverty in Comoros. When Cyclone Kenneth passed through Comoros in 2019, 345,000 people felt its effects. As a result, seven people died, and 182 experienced an injury. Moreover, 19,372 people found themselves displaced, and the cyclone completely destroyed 213 classrooms. This natural disaster further damaged an already insufficient economy and educational system. In response to this disaster, CERF allocated $13 million to relieve those that Cyclone Kenneth affected. The money is going toward providing food, shelter and other necessities to those suffering the effects of Kenneth, and rebuilding schools. UNICEF has also stepped in to help, joining efforts with Educate a Child to educate more than 3.3 million children in numerous African nations, including Comoros.
  5. Tourism could have a positive impact on Comoros. For years, as a result of its history of unrest and political instability, the world economy has neglected Comoros’s tourism sector. However, with its beautiful beaches, Comoros stands to gain much from an increase in tourism. This change would allow the country to become less reliant on its agricultural sector. Additionally, it might help provide food that the population desperately needs. Comoros exports 70% of its food, a number that could decrease with a rise in tourism.

Looking Ahead

Comoros is still recovering from the effects of its deeply-rooted poverty and of Cyclone Kenneth. The country faces poverty-related challenges in rural areas as well as in the education sector. Cyclone Kenneth exacerbated existing conditions. However, organizations like UNICEF and CERF are stepping in to help address the impacts of the cyclone. Increases in tourism also appear to be an untapped economic sector that could lead to positive changes in Comoros. 

– Will Sikich
Photo: Flickr

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5 Facts About Poverty in Comoros

Poverty in Comoros
Comoros is a group of three volcanic islands located between Africa and Madagascar with a population of just above 800,000. Mount Karthala, which is located on the island of Ngazidja and the bigger of the two active volcanoes in Comoros, has frequent eruptions. The last largest eruption took place in 2005 and caused thousands of citizens to flee. Here are five facts about poverty in Comoros.

5 Facts About Poverty in Comoros

  1. Limited Economic and Trade Opportunities – Comoros relies heavily on its exported goods. The three main crops that are important to the country’s economy are vanilla, cloves and ylang-ylang, all of which people use for perfume essence and essential oils. Most of the earnings from these crops go towards natural disasters that occur regularly, primarily fires and severe weather.
  2. Rapid Population Growth – The population has steadily been growing since the 1970s. There are approximately four births to every one death. According to the World Population Review, the average adult woman has about 4.7 babies. The population should continue rising at an even pace.
  3. High Dropout Rates – Comoros has access to two different types of schools; the primary and secondary school system that France established and the traditional Islamic school system. Despite access to an education program, the dropout rate is continuing to steadily rise. Causes of this rate are teacher strikes from lack of proper pay, student strikes from the continuous school shutdowns and political instability. Students who do finish school and obtain a higher education typically do so in another country and do not return after.
  4. Inadequate Health Care Access – Comoros lacks a public health care system. Despite this, the country has been able to keep many of its illness rates low, including HIV and tuberculosis. Many believe that access to clean water that is available to more than 90% of the country contributed to this. The highest cause of death in Comoros is malnutrition which caused nearly 45.1% of deaths between 2007 and 2017.
  5. Lack of Natural Resources – Deforestation is causing the natural forests to decrease due to the lack of re-growing trees. With the increase in population, agricultural lands have less time to regenerate and food sources are declining as a result. These factors and changing weather patterns are affecting natural resources in Comoros at a rapid pace leaving the country in a vulnerable state. Heavy rains and a decline in forest protection are causing floods and landslides, which cause more damage to already weakening agricultural fields. It also causes soil erosion to silt the coral reefs and disturbs the marine life ecosystem and the livelihood of fishing due to fish being Comoros’ main source of protein.

Solutions

In studying poverty in Comoros, not everything is bad. An NGO called Dahari stemmed from the Engagement for Sustainable Development (ECDD) in 2013 and has since been working in the Comoros islands to provide sustainable agriculture and technology to farmers and increase environmental protection. It provides aid towards controlling the environmental factors, shaping landscapes for future generations and increasing the economy. The organization also uses ecotourism to help manage marine life and natural terrestrial resources. Dahari works closely with local communities to achieve peaceful collaboration and help adapt locals to the new technologies and ways they can increase their agricultural development.

The Comoros government continues to work towards its country’s improvement. Despite its efforts, these five facts about poverty in Comoros show that the rapid rise in population and ecosystem decline that changing weather patterns caused continues to affect the country’s efforts to climb out of poverty. With much-needed help, Comoros can work towards rising out of poverty and work towards becoming a resilient and prosperous country.

– Chelsea Wolfe
Photo: Flickr

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Expanding Credit Access in Comoros

ComorosComoros is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Africa. It is located between Mozambique and the island nation of Madagascar. According to the World Bank, the most recent survey of households in Comoros, conducted in 2014, showed about 18 percent of the population living below the poverty line.

Improving access to finance is one way to boost economic activity and lift people out of poverty. Looking at recent changes in credit access in Comoros offers clues as to where the country’s economy is headed.

Business Reforms in Comoros

Over the past few years, the government of Comoros has instituted several reforms that make doing business easier. These reforms have made it easier to start a business by reducing the minimum capital requirement. In turn, this has made resolving insolvency easier for small companies and made trading across borders easier with an automated customs data management system.

The International Finance Corporation reports that these reforms have reduced the number of procedures and days needed to start a business. Comoros has also improved its investment potential by offering political risk insurance to foreign investors, which may mitigate fears over Comoros’ recent decades of instability.

Credit Access in Comoros: Looking Ahead

At the 21st session of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts, in November 2017, participants adopted the final report of best practices and research results for catalyzing growth in East Africa. It clears a path for more cooperation between the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and member states, like Comoros.

Topics emphasized included investment in infrastructure and renewable energy, as well as the need to improve credit access in Comoros, which will support the private sector. The goal is to make Comoros an emerging country by the year 2030, if not sooner.

The Takeaway on Financing in Comoros

Comoros is finally beginning to establish political calm after decades of political strife and coups, initially ushered in by its vote for independence from France in 1974. Time will tell whether peace lasts, but, if it does, business activity and good credit in Comoros will likely continue to grow.

With a better business environment, Comoros will have the funds to address poverty factors like hunger and malnutrition, and, hopefully, it will continue to make gains in the U.N.’s Human Development Index.

– Chuck Hasenauer

Photo: Flickr