Reimagining a resilient and prosperous Comoros by 2030

Over the past three years, the Resident Coordinator in Comoros, François Batalingaya, has brought together 21 agencies across the UN country team to support the Government accelerate its national development priorities, as outlined in the 2030 Plan Comoros Emergent and the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework. 

• Given the island’s vulnerability to the effects of climate change and high dependency on food imports, the Resident Coordinator has worked with the national authorities to prioritize the issue of food security and strengthen the resilience of the country’s food systems. To this end, the UN country team, under the leadership of the Resident Coordinator supported the Government finalize its ‘food systems profile’; an essential decision-making tool to support this Small Island Developing State transform its local agriculture production into a sustainable and inclusive system which benefits all. 
   
• On the other priority issue of gender equality, the Resident Coordinator has scaled up the UN’s advocacy efforts to end gender based-violence and expand women’s access to the legal system. The RC’s engagement with the Government and coordinated advocacy efforts has contributed to the drafting of a national ‘gender profile’ and other legal instruments to promote the social, economic, and political rights of women, including for example the prohibition of forced or arranged marriages and setting the minimum legal age of marriage to 18 years.
   
• As well as supporting the Government advance its longer-term national development priorities, the Resident Coordinator has also played a key role in mobilizing the UN country team to respond to crises. During the COVID-19 pandemic for example, the RC led a coordinated and timely UN response and recovery strategy, including supporting the roll out of a successful vaccine campaign which resulted in Comoros achieving one of the highest rates of vaccine coverage in Africa. To kickstart the recovery of the education sector, which was still suffering from the negative effects of Cyclone Kenneth of 2019, the UN country team provided technical assistance to the Government to identify key learning losses and design targeted initiatives to ensure all children have access to quality education. 

Watch the video below from the Resident Coordinator to learn more about results in Comoros.