The World Bank has approved a grant of 30 million dollars intended to provide immediate and medium-term support to vulnerable populations, knowing that half of the financing comes from the crisis response mechanism.
The press release from the financial institution explains that the project will be national and will invest in the establishment of a solid social protection system for the Comoros. It will be implemented in the three islands of Mwali, Ndzouwani and Ngazidja, covering approximately 200 villages. A total of 40,000 households, or about 200,000 people, will benefit from the project.
“Faced with all the challenges facing the country, there is a strong and evident need to strengthen and expand the social protection system in the Comoros in order to help the Comorian population cope with and recover from shocks”, said Boubacar Sidiki Walbani, resident representative of the World Bank in Comoros, quoted in the press release.
According to him, “by covering approximately 26% of the Comorian population or 32% of the population in the project area, this project reaffirms the commitment of the World Bank to support the Government of Comoros and the Comorian population to meet the needs of more vulnerable and strengthen their resilience in the face of varied and growing shocks”.
It is specified that the activities implemented under this project will be supported by accompanying measures that will mainly target women heads of households and young people of working age, thus reflecting the priorities of the Government of the Comoros, namely human capital development and economic inclusion.
“Given that poverty and inequality have inherent gender and youth dimensions, the project will prioritize women and youth as primary beneficiaries of cash transfers and support women-led income-generating activities and young people,” said Julia Rachel Ravelosoa, Senior Social Protection Economist.
The World Bank says it has been supporting Comoros to build its social protection system since 2015 with a first project funded by IDA to the tune of $6 million in 2015 focused on building a productive safety net program combined with nutrition activities.
By OMA Newsletter N° 1040 of 07/02/2023
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
