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Madagascar – Drought & Tropical Cyclone Response Fact Sheet #3 Fiscal Year (FY) 2022

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SITUATION AT A GLANCE

  • Approximately 2 million people countrywide will likely experience Crisis—IPC 3—levels of acute food insecurity through November, according to a May IPC analysis, with the greatest needs concentrated in areas of southern Madagascar.

  • Sustained levels of humanitarian assistance are necessary to prevent Emergency—IPC 4—outcomes during the annual November–March lean season following severe drought, low maize production, and anticipated poor cash crop harvests in southwestern Madagascar, according to WFP.

  • Shortages of medicine and medical supplies contribute to continued health needs, such as high incidences of malnutrition, among drought- and storm-affected populations in Madagascar’s southern regions.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

Widespread Acute Food Insecurity Continues Among Drought- and Storm-Affected Populations in the Grand Sud

Approximately 2 million people across Madagascar, including nearly 1.1 million people in the Grand Sud—the area comprising southern Madagascar’s Androy and Anosy regions and parts of Atsimo-Andrefana Region— will likely experience Crisis levels of acute food insecurity between September and November, signifying an earlier than expected increase in acute food insecurity, according to a May Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis. 2 Moreover, vulnerable households, primarily in Atsimo-Andrefana’s southern districts and Androy’s northern districts, will likely face Emergency acute food insecurity outcomes from October through January as households’ access to food will further deteriorate with the progression of the lean season and food assistance levels may not adequately meet populations’ needs, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) reports.

Three years of consecutive drought in the Grand Sud continues to generate widespread food needs and exacerbate the vulnerabilities of poor communities, the majority of whom rely on agricultural livelihoods, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The longstanding drought has threatened cash crop production in eastern and southern areas of the country—with cassava production projected to decrease by 25 percent compared to the three-year average—and is expected to trigger an early start to the annual November–March lean season, FEWS NET reports. Moreover, vulnerable households in the southern regions continue to face food consumption gaps following poor May–June maize harvests and have adopted negative coping mechanisms, such as prematurely harvesting cassava, to meet food needs according to FEWS NET. Armyworm attacks on most crops, particularly maize, planted during the previous season have resulted in significant crop losses for households with fields untreated for pesticides and further compounded the effects of limited maize production in the Grand Sud, FAO reports.

Moreover, a combination of six tropical cyclones and storms made landfall over Madagascar from January to April, devastating the livelihoods of populations; damaging cash and food crops, including cassava and rice; and limiting the ability of affected households to meet basic food needs in the eastern districts of the Grand Sud, FAO reports. The storms generated heavy rainfall and flooding, which resulted in the loss of nearly $61 million in food crops, $78 million in cash crops, and $1.5 million in livestock across the Grand Sud-Est, according to FAO. Cyclone-induced flooding and resultant damage to the agricultural sector and infrastructure still adversely affects areas along the southeastern coast which will likely continue to experience Stressed—IPC 2—acute food insecurity outcomes through January 2023, according to FEWS NET.