CERF around the World » Comoros 2008
   Login 
   Comoros - Facts and Figures

  • The population of Comoros 800,000 (2005) with a growth rate of 2.5 percent a year. Life expectancy is 63.7 years and the maternal mortality ratio is 74 per 1,000 live births.
  • The archipelago's violent past has left Comorans among the poorest people in Africa and heavily dependent on foreign aid.
  • There is still inter-island tension between individual Union Islands, and the French territory of Mayotte is still contested. The government of the Union of Comoros claims Mayotte - one of the four stars in the Comoran flag represents the island - and its claim is backed by the UN and the African Union (AU).
  • Comoros depends heavily on foreign aid, which is crucial to its chances of overcoming chronic instability and poverty, and reversing a trend of 20 years of negative economic growth.

 

 

 

 

«CERF Around the World
Print  

    
 Print   

   CERF in Action - Rapid Response

CERF allocates US$ 500,000 to provide health services in Comoros

17 April 2008: Following interruptions in provision of basic social services during the six-months preceding a military attack on the Island of Anjouan on 24 March, the health situation in Anjouan needs immediate support to avoid the worst. A United Nations mission reported that six out of seven District Health Centres (DHC) are partially operational. Nevertheless, the 19 health posts at community level are not in service because they lack qualified personnel, drugs and equipment. Over the last six months, malnutrition rates have gone up, affecting especially women and children. Therapeutic feeding centres are closed or not properly working. Because vaccination centres do not have refrigerators and enough antigens, the number of cases involving measles, malaria, typhoid fever, gastro-intestinal infections and cholera are on the rise. Maternal mortality is high, and unsafe abortions are frequent, leading to many deaths among adolescents. In addition, the logistical capacities of the national authorities are not strong enough to deliver essential health supplies in a timely manner.

People in Comoros need services as the health system is detriorating
People in Comoros need services as the health system is detriorating. [Photo: UNICEF]

A CERF allocation is enabling the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) to help restore essential health care services and respond to immediate nutrition needs of the most vulnerable affected by the breakdown of basic social services in Anjouan. Activities include a vaccination campaign for 8,000 children under five, 10,300 pregnant women and 32,900 women of child-bearing age. The UN agencies are also providing de-worming and vitamin A supplementation, as well as 100,000 oral rehydration salts (ORS) sachets to reduce mortality, in particular, among 3,000 malnourished children under five. The project is also restoring the emergency obstetric maternal care and helping health personnel monitor epidemic-prone disease outbreaks and quickly respond to minimize related casualties.

 

[Last Update: 23 April 2008]

«CERF Around the World