Comoros Social Safety Net Project – Unconditional Urban Cash Transfers (TMNC COVID-19)
Under the World Bank-financed Comoros Social Safety Net Project (SSNP), the Government of Comoros delivered unconditional cash transfers (Transferts Monétaires Non-Conditionnels, TMNC COVID-19) to vulnerable households in urban and peri-urban areas whose incomes were hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and related confinement measures. Households were identified through a proxy-means test combined with community-based validation and received three cash payments via mobile money or microfinance institutions. The component was funded through a US$6.5 million allocation of IDA financing under the SSNP (approved 2015, expanded via COVID-19 restructuring in 2020 and Additional Financing in 2021). It ultimately reached about 21,556 households, more than double its original target, and payments were completed by mid-2021.
COVID-19 emergency response, Unconditional cash transfer, Urban and peri-urban poor, Mobile money, World Bank IDA, Small island state
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- Union of Comoros, Ministry of Health, Solidarity, Social Protection and Gender Promotion (Projet de Filets Sociaux de Sécurité, PFSS)
- City
- Moroni
- Country
- Comoros
Contact
- Website
- https://pfss-comores.org/
- Phone
- +269 773 34 82
- cn@pfss-comores.org
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Inactive
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 21,556
- Funding type
- Government
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Total Amount
- 75,000
- Avg. Per Month
- 6,250
- Payment frequency
- Variable
- How long the program lasts
- 12 months
- Distribution Type
- Mobile Money, Microfinance Institution Transfer
- Benefit details
Beneficiary households received a total unconditional cash transfer equivalent to roughly the SSNP's standard emergency transfer amount of about 25,000 KMF (~US$55) per payment, delivered in three installments (documented in one rollout cohort as two tranches totaling 70,000 KMF/household), paid on a bi-monthly or quarterly basis rather than a fixed monthly schedule. Payments were disbursed digitally through mobile money operators or microfinance institutions to reduce fraud and improve speed of delivery. All 21,556 enrolled households had received their three payments by mid-2021.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Eligible households were poor and vulnerable families living in urban and peri-urban areas of the three islands of Comoros (Ngazidja/Grande Comore, Ndzuwani/Anjouan, and Mwali/Mohéli) who had lost income due to the COVID-19 pandemic and government confinement/curfew measures. Beneficiaries were identified using a Proxy-Means Test combined with geographic and community-based targeting, then validated through community visits and public meetings, with a grievance mechanism available to address targeting complaints.
Geography
- Countries covered
- Comoros
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Application Process
- How to apply
There was no open, self-initiated application process. The government's Project Implementation Unit (then ANACEP, later the Ministry of Health, Solidarity, Social Protection and Gender Promotion) used PMT data and geographic targeting to pre-identify potential beneficiary households in eligible urban/peri-urban villages/neighborhoods, which were then presented at community validation meetings; households could raise concerns about exclusion through the project's grievance redress mechanism.
- Selection process
A combination of geographic targeting, Proxy-Means Testing (PMT), and community-based validation was used to rank and select vulnerable urban and peri-urban households. Lists of pre-selected households were reviewed and validated during community assemblies/public meetings, and a grievance mechanism resolved complaints about inclusion or exclusion (100% of grievances were reported resolved).
