ANTANANARIVO – The U.S. Embassy in Madagascar, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Madagascar is pleased to announce that it is providing $4.5 million in assistance to Madagascar to respond to the drought in the south of the country.  These programs will provide assistance to over 120,000 people affected by drought in five districts.   This contribution will administer immediate assistance to combat hunger and malnutrition as well as assist with longer-term recovery efforts.

According to a report by USAID’s Famine Early Warning System Network released on October 1, poor households in the regions of Androy, Anosy and parts of Atsimo Andrefana have used up their food stocks several months earlier than normal, and will have to resort to buying staple foods on the open market.  Furthermore, forecasts are indicating that there could be below-average rainfall in the south of the country through February 2016, which would exacerbate the situation. 

To address this food crisis, USAID and its partners, including the World Food Program, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, Catholic Relief Services, and Land O’Lakes, will work together in areas hardest hit by the drought. These areas will include Bekily, Tsihombe, Ambovombe, Beloha and Amboasary.  From now through February 2016, these organizations will work with their local partners to use these U.S. government funds to provide 2,300 metric tons of life-saving food assistance as well as farm supplies and toolkits for use during the planting season.  The programs will also distribute specialized, nutritious foods to malnourished children and pregnant and lactating women, who are most affected by acute malnutrition. In addition, these programs will provide farmers with small livestock and train them in animal husbandry.  All food assistance will come from local and regional sources.

During the 2014 planting season, the southern regions of Madagascar experienced rain deficits of 50 to 75 percent, resulting in significant crop losses.  By March 2015, humanitarian groups were estimating that nearly 600,000 people were severely food insecure. In the Androy region, approximately 41 percent of households are severely food insecure, with levels of global acute malnutrition at approximately 12 percent among children under five.  This is expected to only grow worse during the current lean season, threatening livelihoods and increasing mortality in these areas.

For over 30 years, USAID has provided assistance to the Malagasy population to save lives and strengthen food security. The United States remains the largest donor of food assistance in Madagascar.