Madagascar: Humanitarian Snapshot - May 2022

OVERVIEW

Six tropical weather systems hit Madagascar from January to April 2022, killing at least 214 people and affecting about 571,100 across the country. On 17 January,
Tropical Storm Ana arrived in Madagascar, bringing heavy rainfall and flooding that affected about 131,500 people and killed 55, mostly in the central and northern parts of the country. Subsequently, Tropical Cyclone Batsirai made landfall near Mananjary city on 5 February—affecting Atsimo Atsinanana, Vatovavy and Fitovinany regions—and Tropical Cyclone Emnati made landfall in Manakara town on 23 February, impacting the same areas. The two cyclones affected 423,800 people, including 121 people killed by Batsirai and 15 by Emnati. In between the two cyclones, Tropical Storm Dumako impacted Madagascar on 15 February near Sainte Marie in Analanjirofo region, bringing flooding to north-eastern areas and causing 14 deaths. Tropical Storm Gombe then made landfall on 8 March with no significant damages, followed by moderate Tropical Storm Jasmine, which affected more than 4,800 people and killed 5 in the southern part of Madagascar after its arrival on 26 April.

Meanwhile, in the Grand Sud, the drought situation remained precarious despite heavy rains as a result of tropical weather systems. The planting of crops was delayed by a poor start to the season and, although crops were eventually planted following the rains brought by cyclones and storms, the overall outlook remained unclear. By the end of February, more than 61 per cent of the Grand Sud’s territory remained affected by extreme or emergency drought, according to UNICEF. In mid-April 2022, the state of vegetation was close to the long-term average over almost all of the country except for part of the Grand Sud where it was 30 percent to 50 per cent below average, particularly in Betroka, Ampanihy and Betioky.

Following a large scale-up in humanitarian assistance, food insecurity and malnutrition in the Grand Sud improved in the first quarter of 2022, which is particularly notable as this coincided with the peak of the lean season. No district will be in Emergency (IPC phase 4) food insecurity from May to November 2022 in the Grand Sud, according to the latest Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) analysis. The number of people facing IPC Phase 3 and above also decreased from more than 1.1 million people in 2021 to just over 1 million people from April to August 2022. Likewise, global acute malnutrition (GAM) rates in the most drought-affected districts decreased to 8.4 per cent (from 9.2 per cent in September 2021), and severe acute malnutrition was 0.7 per cent. However, the situation remains fragile, with 7 out of 10 districts remaining in Crisis (IPC phase 3) food insecurity and nearly 24 communes having emergency GAM rates.

Meanwhile, food insecurity has risen in the Grand Sud-Est due to the effects of Tropical Cyclones Batsirai and Emnati. Five out of six districts in the Grand Sud-Est region will be in Crisis (IPC phase 3) and about 67,000 people will face Emergency (IPC phase 4) food insecurity from April to August 2022 in the Grand Sud-Est. This is the first time that IPC phase 3 and above are projected in the Grand Sud-Est, where food insecurity does not ordinarily rise above the Stressed (IPC phase 2) level.