Care and surgery
Training and skills transfer
Building and equipping hospitals
Prevention and screening
Emergencies and humanitarian crises
Maternal health
Union of Comoros
Axes of intervention
Care and surgery- Building and equipping hospitals
- Training and skills transfer
- Prevention and screening
Start Date: 2023
The Union of the Comoros is one of the world's poorest countries, and suffers from a significant lack of functional health structures. The population faces a precarious health situation, due in particular to high demographic pressure and soaring energy and food prices. At a time when these difficulties are driving many of them to flee their country in an attempt to reach the island of Mayotte, La Chaîne de l'Espoir is taking action to develop quality care, mainly by training local medical teams in pediatric cardiology.
Background
The Union of the Comoros: a country in ahealth emergency
53% of the population
in the Comoros is under the age of 20.
45% of the population
lives just below the national poverty line.
152nd out of 193 countries
according to the Human Development Index in 2022.
Sources: World Bank (2021, 2023), UNDP
Most Comorians work in the tourism, catering and vanilla, clove and ylang-ylang sectors, all of which have been hard hit by the 2019 health crisis. The inhabitants are still paying the price of this economic fragility, and the rising cost of living is making medical treatment increasingly expensive, to the point of becoming inaccessible for many Comorians.
Demographic concentration, the development of epidemics and a lack of hygiene awareness all increase the risks to the population’s health. This situation is compounded by a serious shortage of healthcare facilities, medical resources and nursing staff: the country has just five cardiologists and three pediatricians for a population of over 836,000.
However, congenital heart defects are common (around 1% of children are born with an anomaly in the formation of the heart), and complications often require surgical treatment. However, there are no technical facilities in the country to provide this care. Children suffering from heart defects do not always have access to care and cannot be operated on locally, even though rapid treatment of these pathologies is often vital.
Our humanitarian action in the Comoros
Expanding access to pediatric cardiac care
La Chaîne de l’Espoir is mobilizing in the Union of the Comoros to help reduce the mortality rate among children suffering from heart disease, in close collaboration with the Comorian association Mouvement Associatif pour l’Education et l’Egalité des CHAnces (MAEECHA) and two partner public hospitals, the Centre Hospitalier National El-Maarouf in Moroni and the Centre Hospitalier de Référence Insulaire Hombo, on the island of Anjouan.
By strengthening diagnostic resources and the skills of healthcare professionals, equipping hospitals with essential medical equipment and setting up medical transfers, La Chaîne de l’Espoir is making a lasting contribution to the care of pediatric cardiac pathologies in the Union of the Comoros.
La Chaîne de l’Espoir is working in the Comoros to improve access to healthcare for children suffering from heart disease, in collaboration with the NGO MAEECHA.
From 2024 / 2025, screening campaigns will be organized throughout the country. Chaîne de l’Espoir will provide targeted training in detecting the signs of pediatric heart disease.
Strengthening the healthcare system through medical collaboration in the Indian Ocean
La Chaîne de l’Espoir is also helping to improve the health of Comorian children, by strengthening the local healthcare system.
To achieve this, La Chaîne de l’Espoir is developing a regional medical collaboration in the Indian Ocean between the various countries in the zone, with a reference partner, the CHU Félix Guyon in La Réunion.
Extended to Madagascar, La Réunion, Mozambique and the Comoros, the program aims to strengthen the skills of healthcare professionals and enable the transfer of sick children. In the Comoros, two public hospitals have joined the program: the Centre Hospitalier National El-Maarouf in Moroni and the Centre Hospitalier de Référence Insulaire Hombo, on the island of Anjouan. The program offers Comorian cardiologists access to a regional network of healthcare professionals, facilitating the diagnosis of cardiac pathologies.
Training to improve diagnosis of cardiac pathologies
In the Comoros, none of the five cardiologists on the archipelago has received training in pediatric care. To make up for this shortcoming, volunteer cardiologists from La Chaîne de l’Espoir carry out missions every year to reinforce the skills of their colleagues, with particular emphasis on pediatric ultrasound.
In addition, internships at the University Hospital of La Réunion will be offered to reinforce the autonomy and skills of Comorian medical staff in the care of children.
To address the shortage of medical equipment, La Chaîne de l’Espoir donates ultrasound scanners and organizes preventive maintenance training to enable local technicians toimprove the equipment’s operation and durability.
Tele-ultrasound for diagnosis
Thanks to the implementation of our echoes® system, cardiologists at hospitals in Moroni and on the island of Anjouan can now carry out remote ultrasound scans. This technological advance enables them to collaborate closely with healthcare professionals at the University Hospitals of Nantes and La Réunion. This innovation enables more accurate and rapid diagnosis, speeds up the care of sick children and promotes the sharing of medical knowledge.
Medical transfers of children to La Réunion
In the Comoros, the lack of trained medical staff and adequate equipment means that children suffering from serious cardiac pathologies cannot be operated on. In this context, the regional cooperation set up by La Chaîne de l’Espoir is essential. Transfers are organized to the university hospital on Reunion Island. This vital collaboration enables us to provide Comorian children with locally inaccessible medical care, which is vital to their survival.
Maïadat, the first Comorian child transferred to Reunion Island
Maïadat, a 13-month-old baby girl, suffered from a heart condition that was inoperable in the Comoros. In October 2023, she became the first child from the archipelago to be transferred to the University Hospital of La Réunion for complex heart surgery. This transfer paves the way for a new model of care for young Comorians, offering them the opportunity to benefit from heart surgery on La Réunion, thus establishing a lasting regional medical partnership in the Indian Ocean.
Photos: La Chaîne de l’Espoir
