Madagascar: Urgent call for assistance

Abstract

The humanitarian situation in Madagascar remains of concern due to the negative impact of prolonged drought in the Grand Sud and consecutive tropical cyclones in the Grand Sud-Est (Batsirai and Emnati in 2022, and Freddy in 2023). Compounding the situation is the threat of El Niño‑induced climate extremes. The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis (August 2023) indicated that 1.32 million people were projected to face high acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 and above) in October–December 2023 and this figure is expected to increase to 1.72 million in January–April 2024, if appropriate assistance isn’t provided.

Vulnerable crisis-affected populations require emergency agricultural assistance for livelihood recovery to meet their food needs. Investing in anticipatory actions and risk reduction ahead of El Niño-related climate extremes helps safeguard vulnerable households’ livelihoods and prevent a people from falling into worse levels of food insecurity. Providing crisis‑affected farming households with agricultural inputs in time for the main planting season starting in November 2023 will enable them to resume food production and recover their livelihoods.