Comoros

ONE OF THE POOREST nations in the world, Comoros is composed of three islands located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in sub-Saharan Africa. This small nation of 671,247 people has few resources to support its growing population. Many Comorans lack the education and training necessary for better-paying jobs, leaving 80 percent of the people dependent on subsistence agriculture and forcing others into the ranks of the unemployed. The Comoran economy depends on regular remittances from the 150,000 Comorans who work abroad.

Owing to a lack of arable land, Comoros is not able to produce its own food supply, including the rice that makes up the staple of the Comoran diet. This lack has created an environment in which 42 percent of all children under 5 are malnourished and in which 60 percent of the population live below the poverty line. In 2002, the Comoran government initiated community-based programs aimed at improving nutrition levels for children under 5 and pregnant and lactating women. However, most social programs tend to be of poor quality, and the poor look to their families for aid more often than to the government. Lack of data hampers a total assessment of Comoran poverty.

Much of the poverty in Comoros is derived from the instability of the government and insufficient social programs and institutions. Since the mid-1970s, 19 attempts have been made to overthrow existing governments. A military coup in 1999 paved the way for the establishment of a confederal government under a new constitution. The government pledged to upgrade education, stem population growth, and improve health-care even as it struggles to deal with staggering debt and attempts to diversify the economy and attract foreign aid and investment.

The median age in Comoros is 18.61 years, with a life expectancy of 61.96 years. Almost 43 percent of the population are under the age of 14, and three percent are over 65. Comorans face an 18.1 percent probability of not surviving to the age of 40. General health conditions have improved somewhat, and 98 percent of the population have access to sanitation and 96 percent have access to improved water sources.

Children suffer greatly from the poverty that plagues Comoros. One-fourth of all children under 5 are moderately to severely underweight. Some 12 percent suffer from moderate to severe wasting, and 42 percent suffer from moderate to severe stunting. However, some important gains have been made in the last two decades. Between 1990 and 2001, the infant mortality rate dropped from 88 deaths per 1,000 live births to 59 deaths per 1,000 live births. The mortality rate for children under 5 dropped during that same period. However, between 1990 and 2002, the number of infants receiving measles vaccinations decreased by 16 percent, and the number of DPT vaccinations decreased by five percent. In 2003, 63 percent of children ages 12 to 23 months received measles vaccinations and three-fourths of all children received DPT3 vaccinations. Only 22 percent of Comoran children receive oral rehydration therapy when necessary. On the positive side, the immunization rate for 1-year-olds is 90 percent for tuberculosis and 98 percent for polio.

...