Comoros charts a safer future with new disaster risk reduction strategy
Comoros-a small island developing state in the Indian Ocean-faces mounting risks from tropical cyclones, sea level rise, erratic rainfall, and extreme heat.
According to the World Bank's Climate Risk Profile for Comoros, "once-in-a-century" rainfall events could occur almost twice as often by mid-century, while rising seas threaten to inundate coastal communities. For a country where nearly 40% of the population lives below the poverty line and where infrastructure is weak, disasters threaten not only lives and livelihoods but also fragile development gains.
From mapping risks to national law
Recognizing this urgency, Comoros began in 2021 with a policy landscape mapping to enhance the integrated planning and implementation of align disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate adaptation actions. This laid the foundation for updating the 2015-2014 National DRR Strategy.
In June 2024, the country adopted a new DRR Law-establishing clear institutional responsibilities, strengthening resilience at national and local levels, and establishing the National Emergency and Resilience Fund (FNUR).
A strategy anchored in global and regional frameworks
By December 2024, following broad national consultations, the National DRR Strategy and its Action Plan were endorsed by the Cabinet. The strategy was developed using a Comprehensive Disaster and Climate Risk Management approach with the support of the UNDRR Regional Office for Arab States through the Resilience Building and Disaster Response Management in the Indian Ocean (RDRM-IO) programme, which is co-funded by the European Union and implemented in partnership with the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), PIROI (French Red Cross), and UNDRR. It is fully aligned with the Sendai Framework for DRR, the Arab Strategy for DRR 2030, and the African Agenda for Action.
Resilience building and disaster response management in the Indian Ocean (RDRM-IO)
The overall objective of the Resilience building and disaster response management in the Indian Ocean (RDRM-IO) programme is to reduce disaster and climate related losses in the human, economic, social, physical, and environmental assets of Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) member states.
On 14 September 2025, His Excellency Azali Assoumani, President of the Union of the Comoros, officially validated the National DRR Strategy and its Action Plan 2024-2030 at a ceremony in Moroni.
Putting governance to the test
The adoption of the law and the strategy was not just a paper exercise. To translate governance frameworks into practice, Comoros organized a table-top simulation of a complex multi-hazard tropical cyclone, cholera outbreak and volcanic turbulence in September 2025, in collaboration with UNDRR and the Italian Red Cross. The exercise was jointly designed by the Directorate General of Civil Security in Comoros and the Comorian Red Crescent.
This exercise tested the new institutional arrangements, coordination mechanisms, operational capacities, and early warning responsibilities and anticipatory action and response capacities as outlined in the National DRR Law and National DRR Strategy and its Action Plan (2024-2030). It brought together national and local authorities, technical services, and humanitarian partners to rehearse decision-making and validate standard operating procedures.
The exercise showed that the new law provides mechanisms for effective coordination among stakeholders at national and sub-national levels during emergencies. However, it also highlighted the need to strengthen information sharing across government entities and partners, as well as to provide continued training on the activation of procedures outlined in the National Contingency Plan."
Mr. Oumour Saandi, Chief of the Operations and Preparedness Centre, Ministry of Interior. "The TTX simulation exercise organized in the Comoros with the support of UNDRR and the Italian Red Cross represents an essential step in strengthening our national preparedness and response capacities. Its value lies in putting into practice inter-institutional coordination, improving our warning mechanisms and consolidating the resilience of our communities to disasters as defined in the national DRM/DRR strategic and legal documents".
By linking policy frameworks to operational preparedness, Comoros demonstrated how governance reforms can directly strengthen national readiness for disasters.