The World Bank in Comoros

The archipelago of the Comoros is in the Indian Ocean, north of the Mozambique Channel and northeast of Madagascar.

Political Context

Azali Assoumani was re-elected for a third term as President of the Comoros Union in January 2024 following the first round of presidential elections on January 14^th, 2024. Elected in 2016, after ten years of absence from the political scene, Azali Assoumani returned and won the last three presidential elections (2016, 2019, 2024). His government introduced a series of structural reforms, including a review and overhaul of the Presidential Rotation System among the islands.

Economic Overview

The economy expanded by an estimated 3% in 2023 as domestic activities were supported by the resumption of “grands mariages” (big weddings) and the associated increase in diaspora community arrivals, primarily from France. Public servant salary hikes in January 2023 aimed at preserving purchasing power, a high level of remittances, and higher public investment supported domestic demand. On the supply side, the construction sector benefited from increased public spending, while the primary sector benefited from higher agricultural prices and favorable climate conditions. As inflationary pressures from imported food and energy products moderated, inflation declined from 12.4% in 2022 to 9.2% in 2023. An increase of 50 basis points in the key monetary policy rate in July 2023 and lower credit growth in response to liquidity management operations also helped decrease inflation. The fiscal deficit continued to widen in 2023 to an estimated 4.4% of GDP despite improved domestic revenue mobilization. The deterioration of the fiscal position by 0.4 percentage points of GDP in 2023 was mainly driven by a large increase in public spending of 3.5 percentage points of GDP, particularly higher public capital expenditures.

The economic recovery from the COVID-related slowdown is expected to continue, with growth reaching 3.3% in 2024 and 4.2% over 2025-26, driven primarily by private consumption and public investment. The construction of the El Maarouf Hospital and the Galawa Hotel and the construction or restoration of roads and ports should support the economic recovery. In the medium term, productivity growth is expected to benefit from the 2023 energy law, which promotes the production of electricity from renewable sources. The creation of a credit registry and a partial credit guarantee scheme, as well as the operationalization of the leasing law in 2024-25, are also expected to support the recovery in 2025-26. The poverty rate is expected to decrease slowly to 36.2% in 2026 as the economy continues to expand more rapidly. Fiscal consolidation, enhanced SOE performance monitoring, and increased expenditure efficiency are expected to reduce the fiscal deficit to 2.2% of GDP by 2026.

Social Context

Comoros is densely populated, with approximately 465 inhabitants per km² and 53% of the population under 20 years of age. High population density places intense pressure on natural resources and the environment. The country’s location and topography are among the most climate-vulnerable in the world, and 54.2% of the population lives in at-risk areas. Some 45% of the population live just below the national poverty line, and 44% face either moderate or severe food insecurity. Comoros children can expect to complete 8.4 years of schooling by 18 years of age. Chronic malnutrition leads to stunting in 31 of 100 children. The social safety net system in Comoros is progressing, but its impact is limited due to inadequate coverage. Comoros has created “safety net” programs in recent years to assist very poor households and to contribute to crisis response: safety net programs have been enhanced to strengthen resilience and improve human capital and coverage has been increased. The programs have been in place since 2015 and are now well established, and the results and impacts are confirmed by evaluations.

Last Updated: Apr 01, 2024

The World Bank Group’s engagement in Comoros is guided by the Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for 2020-2024, developed in consultation with the government, civil society, private sector, women and youth associations, and representatives from across the islands. The CPF aims to support the country’s efforts to build resilience, strengthen human capital, and foster inclusive growth, as well as address the urgent need arising from the impacts of COVID-19 and Cyclone Kenneth.

Aligned to the Plan for Emerging Comoros, the country’s medium-term strategy to cover the period 2020-2030, the CPF’s four objectives also reflect the recommendations drawn from the Comoros Systematic Country Diagnostic:

·         Building human capital

·         Supporting disaster recovery and resilience

·         Improving the business environment and governance

·         Improving connectivity.

This engagement and investment ($300 million) support the country in achieving ambitious goals such as increasing the quality of the Comorian health system, reducing chronic malnutrition rates, increasing access to energy, and promoting Comoros connectivity.

Last Updated: Apr 01, 2024

The World Bank is financing 11 projects in Comoros ($321.9 million) in health, social protection, disaster recovery, energy, transport, youth entrepreneurship and private sector development, agriculture, climate resilience, tourism,  financial inclusion, and statistical development. It has contributed to response plans to recent crises, including the plan to fast-track the country’s recovery from Cyclone Kenneth in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine.  

The Support to COVID-19 Vaccine Purchase and Health System Strengthening Project supports the Government of the Union of Comoro's efforts to vaccinate and protect at least 60% of its population, including adolescents, and also to strengthen its health system for an improved response to the pandemic and to health emergencies in general. The $21 million project financed the procurement of 200,000 doses of vaccines as well as the deployment costs for vaccination campaigns, contributing to the full vaccination of 386,851 people (47% of the population). To respond to the ongoing cholera outbreak, this project also finances acquisition of water tanks and new water pumps to respond to the urgent water needs in Moroni.

The Comprehensive Approach to Health System Strengthening Project (COMPASS) has helped improve access to quality primary healthcare with over 128,000 people having received health, nutrition, and/or population services through the project. Key milestones have included: the distribution of 30 scholarships for clinical and public health training; the enrollment of 64 health facilities in the Performance-Based Financing Program and the payment of the first subsidies; and supporting 173 community health and nutrition interventions through equipment provision, training of community agents, and promotion campaigns. This activity converges with the social protection sector interventions. The project also supports the enhancement of training curricula for lab technicians and paramedics, and the training of health workers by providing for in-service and pre-service training. To date, 21 scholarships have been provided for clinical and non-clinical specialties.

The Social Safety Net project supported by the World Bank has significantly helped Comoros build a national safety net system and expand its coverage, focusing on resilience, job creation, protection of human capital, women’s empowerment, and economic inclusion while strengthening the crisis response. Coverage of long-term safety net programs has increased from 3% in 2021 to 9% in 2022. The new Shock Responsive and Resilient Safety Net Project, officially launched in July 2023, has kept these efforts alive through its various components and will increase this coverage to 17%. The project aims to provide emergency cash transfers and improve the resilience of vulnerable households. Through the combination of income support, accompanying measures, behavior change communication, and training, the project seeks to protect against severe short-term shocks and help build long-term resilience. The project has a strong focus on women and youth empowerment to reduce existing gaps, including in employment. The interventions prioritize women as main cash transfer recipients, and support female-led income-generating activities. In March 2024, 39,900 households in 122 villages of the three islands have benefited from the social cash transfer through digital payment. The project is currently in the process of registering the beneficiaries of the economic inclusion program: 15,000 households among the most vulnerable segment of the 39,900 households previously mentioned.

The $25 million Integrated Development and Competitiveness Project (PIDC) supports (1) value chain intervention in priority sectors such as agriculture (fresh fruits and vegetables, and export commodities, including ylang-ylang, cloves, and vanilla); livestock (dairy and poultry) and tourism, and related connectivity infrastructure (rural road rehabilitation); and (2) firm-level support and financial and technical assistance through a Business Plan Competition. Project achievements include the adoption of Comoro's first National Agriculture Investment Plan, the implementation of an agriculture data unit within the directorate in charge of Agriculture (DNSAE), the implementation of the Fomboni aviculture pole, and the drafting of secondary legislation (decree and arrêté) related to food law. In addition, 123 livestock and crop technicians and 43 agricultural cooperatives were trained. Eighty thousand healthy vanilla vines and 34,700 fruit tree seedlings were distributed to 1,196 farmers on the three islands. Four Rural Economic Development Centers (Centres Ruraux de Développement Economiques, CRDEs) have also been rehabilitated and are now operational. The project also helped in the revision of the Tourism Code and the rehabilitation of selected tourism sites. About 17 km of feeder roads were rehabilitated to improve access to market. Through the Business Plan Competition (CPA - Concours de Plan d’Affaires), more than 289 young entrepreneurs, cooperatives, and SMEs received technical assistance, grants, and matching grants (ranging from $6,000 to $80,000). Most of the supported businesses are in the agribusiness sector, with more than 50% being women-owned/women-led. The CPA beneficiaries already reported an increase of more than 21% of their revenues and contributed to the creation of 2,541 direct and indirect jobs. Private investment leveraged through CPA amounts to about $8.2 million.

Phase 3 of the Food System Resilience Program (FSRP-KM): the project has been effective since September 5^th, 2023. It provides medium- to long-term responses to the food security crisis in Comoros and will assist 150,000 direct beneficiaries, 60,000 of whom are women. The project increases the resilience of the national food systems and the country’s preparedness for food insecurity, for agriculture, livestock, and fisheries. It will strengthen the availability of basic agriculture improved inputs (seed, fertilizers, animal feeds) and services (extension, training, phytosanitary/veto); sustainable and resilient landscape and watershed management; resilient fisheries by improving productivity and value-chain improvement together with strengthened fisheries governance; climate change adaptive and resilient coastal and marine resources management; research and innovation that can deliver climate-smart solutions into the hands of farming communities. FSRP-KM will also build capacity to enhance the financial sustainability of the fisheries sector: sustainable captures, value chain, governance and management. Key milestones have included: the launch of the agricultural general census, launch of the rehabilitation of 15 km of feeder roads and scaling up production of existing climate resilient and high-yield staple food crops (cassava and banana). The project is scaling up activities initiated by the Integrated Development and Competitiveness Project (PIDC), including the import and promotion of improved cattle, small ruminants, and poultry.   

Last Updated: Apr 01, 2024

The World Bank is working in close cooperation with France, the European Union, the International Monetary Fund, various UN agencies, the Islamic Development Bank, and the African Development Bank to harmonize donor efforts in Comoros.

Last Updated: Apr 01, 2024