The southern region of Madagascar has been experiencing a prolonged drought, amplified by the effects of climate change and the El Niño climate phenomenon, since 2013. The United States is especially concerned about the alarming levels of food insecurity in southern Madagascar where 900,000 people need emergency food assistance. The U.S. government is ramping up its response as needs continue to escalate during the lean season into early next year.
6.1 million people, 23.3% of the total population of Madagascar (INSTAT, 2015), will benefit from a new 5-year, $30 million USD integrated community health program funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The program is a collaboration between the Minstry of Public Health, USAID and JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI).
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all of you for your work, contributions to and participation in the SCAPES program implementation. We can say, with conviction, that the SCAPES project has been a great success. All your support has been invaluable, and we must continue to work hard to consolidate the gains made under SCAPES.
Our destination was remote. It took four hours of driving, through 20kms of rough terrain and bumpy roads, for our USAID team to reach Rantohely, a small fishermen’s village along the Bay of Antongil in northeastern Madagascar. Perhaps because of the physical isolation, these were a people used to managing things on their own.
Recognizing the important role played by private businesses to provide essential health services to the Malagasy people, a partnership agreement was officially launched on September 16 between the U.S. government through USAID and AccèsBanque to encourage health businesses and practitioners across Madagascar to seek out loans to grow their businesses. SHOPS Plus (Sustaining Health Outcomes through Private Sectors), a USAID-funded project, will bring technical assistance to help develop and sell the loan products.
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