Ngazidja: Launch of a medical caravan to strengthen school inclusion

In a classroom transformed into a space of celebration, Coulé 2 School in Ngazidja was filled with emotion and enthusiasm on December 3, 2025, marking the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Parents, teachers, and students shared a solemn yet warm moment during the official launch of the medical caravan for school inclusion, organized by the Ministry of Education with the support of UNICEF.

Among them was Amina, in her forties, holding her son Mustakim Mohamed, who has Down syndrome. With palpable emotion, she confided: “Today is a special moment for us. My son will receive the attention and follow-up he needs to thrive at school.” Like her, many parents accompanied their children to benefit from specialized medical consultations that followed the ceremony.

A young visually impaired student, his eyes shining with enthusiasm, said: “I am proud to be at school even though I cannot see well.” His testimony perfectly illustrates the determination of children and families to fully participate in school life despite the challenges linked to disability.

“The mission of the school is to welcome every child, without distinction, and to provide the conditions that allow them to learn, flourish, and believe in their potential. This means viewing disability not as a limitation, but as a human reality that calls us to greater listening, empathy, and innovation,” reminded the president of the school council.

In his keynote speech, the Minister of Education, Bacar Mvoulana, emphasized that education is a universal right and that every child must be able to learn and thrive regardless of their abilities. He highlighted the ministry’s ongoing efforts to implement an inclusive education policy, notably through the National Strategy for the Schooling of Children Living with Disabilities (2017–2026), teacher training, curriculum adaptation, and the establishment of monitoring and support mechanisms. “The medical caravan we are inaugurating today enables the early detection of physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities, guides families toward specialized services, and improves the schooling of children in our public institutions,” said the minister.

UNICEF’s representative in the Comoros, Mustapha Ben Messaoud, placed the initiative in a global and local context: nearly 240 million children worldwide live with disabilities, and many face multiple barriers in exercising their rights. In the Comoros, the number of students with disabilities enrolled reached 1,742 in 2024–2025, including 905 girls. Mustapha Ben Messaoud recalled the essential actions needed to guarantee inclusion for children with disabilities: “On the one hand, it is necessary to remove physical barriers and those linked to communication and attitudes that exclude them from society. On the other hand, it is essential to ensure birth registration, access to inclusive health and nutrition services, equitable education, and access to assistive technologies”.

 Specialized consultations in Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT), ophthalmology, neurology, physiotherapy, and other disciplines were offered directly in schools in Ngazidja, as had already been done in Mwali and Ndzuani. In total, 902 students from 215 schools across the three islands benefited from these consultations and individualized medical follow-up, enabling the identification of specific needs, the referral of children requiring particular care to specialized health services, and the assurance of genuine and lasting inclusion.

Ahead of the caravan, awareness sessions were conducted with teachers, school administrators, parents, and local stakeholders to strengthen their understanding and commitment to the process of school inclusion for children with disabilities. This initiative aimed to create a fair and adapted school environment, ensuring access to health services and pedagogical support tailored to each child’s needs. The medical caravan, designed in a mobile and secure format, thus made it possible to reach a large number of children, with a multidisciplinary team ready to respond to their specific needs.   

The history of inclusive education in the Comoros is strongly framed by legislation and public policies. The 2001 Constitution proclaims the right to education for all, while the law of December 22, 2014, defines disability and commits the State to guaranteeing equality of rights. Since then, the government has integrated inclusive education into all its sectoral plans and ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2016. The 2017–2026 Action Plan and the Comoros Emerging Plan for 2030 aim to establish a national framework to ensure inclusive basic education adapted to the specific needs of children living with disabilities.

Since 2015, pilot initiatives supported by UNICEF have trained teachers and pedagogical supervisors to support children with visual, auditory, or cognitive impairments. Specialized teaching tools have been introduced, including braille, sign language, and adapted materials for children with low vision or hearing difficulties.

However, the initial implementation faced obstacles. The use of the equipment provided remained limited, and the training was only partially applied, due to insufficient ownership of the inclusive approach by pilot schools. Yet, evidence demonstrates its effectiveness—not only for the socialization and schooling of children with disabilities, but also for stimulating pedagogical innovation to the benefit of all students.

This situation led to discouragement among some parents, who chose to withdraw their children from mainstream schools or enroll them in the few existing specialized structures. A new momentum has been observed thanks to institutional commitment. Indeed, following UNICEF’s advocacy, the Ministry of Education appointed in December 2023 a focal point for the schooling of children with disabilities, Ms. Hakika Msahazi. Her dynamism has helped revive the inclusive approach, foster collaborations with the Ministry of Health, the few existing specialized centers, and psychologists, and adopt concrete measures as well.

Thus, each school year, in accordance with official instructions from the Ministry of Education, teachers and principals must identify children with disabilities enrolled in their institutions, and report those in examination classes, in order to help establish the necessary pedagogical arrangements. A guide for detecting learning difficulties has been developed with the support of educators and psychologists to help teachers better support these students. Pedagogical supervisors have been trained in its use and are expected to train teachers in turn.

The Ministry also plans to create a dedicated budget line for the schooling of children with disabilities.

“Our children with disabilities are talented and courageous. The school must adapt to them, not the other way around. With the medical caravan and all the measures put in place, we reaffirm our commitment to building a Comorian school where every child, without exception, finds their place,” reassured the Minister of Education.