Southern Madagascar faces food shortage amid drought
A drought has ravaged villages across the southern part of Madagascar, the world’s fourth biggest island, leaving its people hungry and its children with less physical reserves dying.
Authorities say at least 16 children have died already, warning that about half of toddlers are not growing properly because of malnutrition.
The government says 200,000 to 350,000 people are famished due to the drought, which destroyed the crops in October 2014 through February 2015.
The UN food agency has asked donors to help rebuild the country’s food stocks. “We need support now,” said Fatima Sow Sidibe, a representative of the World Food Program (WFP) to the Indian Ocean island.
Over the past weeks, WFP rations have enabled 120,000 people to get regular meals.
Torrential rains started in February, causing flooding and mudslides that left 22 people dead and drove more than 63,000 from their homes in the capital, Antananarivo, in the central highlands region of the country.
The government has issued a new alert, saying that more rain is on the way in the highlands, warning residents in several neighborhoods in Antananarivo to brace for further flooding and potential landslides over the coming days.
Government emergency management staff workers have also been doing door-to-door checks, telling residents in affected areas to examine their homes for cracks or other signs of damage that may worsen the potential adverse effects of heavy rains.
More than 70 percent of Madagascar’s 22 million population lives below the poverty line.
XLS/HJL/HRB
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