SITUATION UPDATE
Following a significant scale-up in humanitarian assistance in the second half of 2021 and first half of 2022, food insecurity and malnutrition improved in the Grand Sud. No district will be in the Emergency (IPC phase 4) from May to November 2022, according to the latest Integrated Food Insecurity Classification (IPC) analysis, while the number of people classified in Crisis (IPC phase 3) and above has fallen from over 1.1 million people in 2021 to just over 1 million from April to August 2022. The nutrition situation has also improved, according to the results of the Nutritional Surveillance System (SSN) carried out in 15 districts of the Grand Sud.
However, the situation remained precarious. Below-average rainfall in the 2021-2022 season, as well as limited financial income, continued to place strain on households’ food security. Some 20 communes remained in Emergency acute malnutrition, while 36 communes are in nutritional alert.
Humanitarians reached around 1.3 million people in the Grand Sud with life-saving and life-sustaining assistance between January 2021 and June 2022, including nearly 1.2 million in 2022 alone. Between January and May 2022, at least 1.06 million people received food assistance, of whom 530,000 were given cash transfers. More than 243,000 people had improved access to safe water. Children remained a major focus of the response with more than 27,000 treated for acute malnutrition, 5,730 given treatment against deadly diseases, while 47,850 were vaccinated against preventable diseases. Around 99,300 children were provided with school kits and refresher courses. More than 4,320 pregnant women received antenatal care while 71,500 people were reached with awareness-raising campaigns on gender-based violence and reproductive health issues. To reinforce resilience, 81,900 farmers planted drought-resistant seeds and 54 new water points were built. In addition, a cargo helicopter was deployed to the Grand Sud from April to May 2022, where it delivered 19.4 tons of humanitarian assistance in hard-to-reach areas.
Donors’ timely and generous contributions to humanitarian action made a critical difference in the Grand Sud in the first half of 2022. Out of the US$231 million required between January 2021 and May 2022, a remarkable $222.4 million had been received by the end of May.
However, with the situation in the Grand Sud remaining fragile, and new needs emerging due the cyclones that hit Madagascar in the first quarter of 2022, additional contributions are needed. The Madagascar Flash Appeal was revised in June, with partners calling for an additional $155 million to respond from June to December in the Grand Sud (drought) and Grand Sud-Est (cyclone-affected areas).
Disclaimer
- UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
- To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.