Attachments
Situation in Numbers
2,180,000 People affected
88,000 Displaced people
1,090,000 Children in need of humanitarian assistance with 92,000 for SAM treatment and 600,000 with lack access to safe water
Highlights
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UNICEF Madagascar launched a US$ 41.12 million appeal for 2023 to meet the most urgent humanitarian needs of children and women affected by drought, cyclone and epidemic. As of 30 June 2023, US$ 17.6 million (43 %) has been mobilized.
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In January and February 2023 90,000 people were directly impacted by Cheneso and 187,400 by Freddy, including 88,000 displaced, 47 killed and 20 missing. Roads, schools, health centers and homes across several regions were damaged and destroyed.
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UNICEF has provided emergency water and sanitation services to 31,200 people with 15,920 women and 15,340 men including 7,960 girls and 7,670 boys.
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According to Preliminary results of SMART survey march- april 2023 in 11 southern districts, the prevalence of global acute malnutrition, assessed by the weight-for-height Z-score and/or the presence of bilateral oedema, in children aged 0-59 months was 9.2% [8.4-10.1].
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UNICEF has treated 41,864 children (21,352 girls and 20,512 boys) for severe acute malnutrition and 171,718 children (87,577 girls and 84,141 boys) have received preventive nutrition emergency services.
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UNICEF cash transfer support covered 16,848 households (48,000 children under 15 and 1,322 pregnant women).
Situation Overview and Humanitarian Needs
The particularly intense cyclone season last year and this year Freddy and Cheneso cyclones have had severe impact on the Southeast and South West part of Madagascar. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) of November 2022 a quarter of the population (872,000) of the three Southeast regions are in need of humanitarian assistance. The current humanitarian situation affects particularly the women and girls. According to the diagnostic report on protection in the district of Mananjary, Vatovavy Region, carried out in June 2023 by Humanity & Inclusion and Médecin du Monde,there is an increase in paternal abandonment of young girls in situations of precocious pregnancy and a risk of physical/sexual aggression when the women are isolated (on the road, in the fields, fetching water/wood, etc.) or during weekly intra- or inter-community balls.
As a consequence of the last 2 years cyclones and the slow recovery of the historical 2019-2022, Madagascar continues to face a nutritional emergency characterized by an improved but still fragile nutritional situation in the south; and an acute humanitarian situation in the southeast, with an acute malnutrition rate above 15% in half of the districts which requires the humanitarian response. In total 599,000 children (including 300,900 girls) suffering of wasting need immediate treatment.
The most critical needs of children are: i) access to clean consumable water and adequate sanitation to avoid outbreaks of acute water related disease, medicine, foods, cooking equipment, and other basic items for survival; and ii) basic social services including nutrition, health, education, protection, as well as shock responsive social protection through the provision of humanitarian cash transfers.
The country has been in a polio outbreak since September 2020 with a notification of 214 cases of cVDPV1 distributed in 27 Districts of 11 Regions as of end April 2023. For the year 2023, the response plan foresees 5 rounds of nationwide Supplementary Immunization Activities.
Due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis, the findings indicate an increase in many absences and dropouts of students, whether at primary or college level. These absences were also observed in the children's participation in the official end-of-year examinations (CEPE and BEPC), in relation to those registered and those present. For Atsimo Antsinanana for example, compared with last year, the number of pupils absent from the CEPE exam was halved, from 1,024 to 614, a reduction of 410. Follow-up visits in the field have shown us that the suspension of classes is having an impact on children's success. The long absences caused by the hazards and the delay in reopening the schools due to their remoteness and isolation force the children, especially the boys, to help their parents to supplement the reduced household income.
In the South and Southeastern drought-affected regions, it is estimated that 273,068 children are involved in child labour and 144,689 children are victims of neglect or abandonment and in need of protection. Stress and economic pressure on families expose 530,000 children to the risk of violence, abuse and exploitation, including child marriage, child labour and gender-based violence in emergency-affected regions across the country. The multiple and overlapping humanitarian crises have reduced the resilience of households, pushing them to resort to negative coping practices mainly affecting women and children as confirmed by community consultations carried out by the NGOs at regional level in 2023.
For WASH the forecast in response to the needs corresponds to the support after Cyclone FREDDY: increase by 10% the percentage of the population applying good washing practices at the community level and reduce the risk of infection in health care facilities through the implementation of WASH services in Vatovavy Fitovinany regions.