Edited News | WFP , WHO
Madagascar: rapid transformation initiative for rural communities provides hope for future
An innovative pilot project seeking to develop climate resilience among vulnerable rural communities in southern Madagascar could be a template for future humanitarian work, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
Focusing on remote Androy and Anosy regions, the Rapid Rural Transformation WFP and partners have established solar-powered hubs, water boreholes and internet connectivity. This has given communities essential services such as energy, water, and digital platforms, in an environmentally responsible and sustainable manner, the UN agency explained.
The hub, which is managed by regional authorities, allows various partners to set up integrated community services such as training centers for women and youth on food production and business skills, as well as digital classrooms, while enhancing agricultural production through solar-powered drip irrigation and hydroponics.
“We are establishing solar-powered hubs that then provide a sustainable water source. To the site that I visited we were able to sink and drill boreholes nearby, we’ve introduced ICT (information and communications technology) in these remote areas, allowing for the provision of essential services be it energy, green energy, be it water, and digital platforms to members of the community,” said Tomson Phiri, WFP Regional Communications Lead and Spokesperson for Southern Africa.
“For me, these initiatives are a game changer," added Mr. Phiri, speaking from Antananarivo to journalists in Geneva, via Zoom. "It is the golden standard of assistance to such communities: we’ve brought connectivity, we are enhancing agricultural productivity, we are going to hone people business’ skills, we are giving opportunities to people, especially women and the youth so that they can start embarking on their own enterprises.”
Madagascar is among the 10 countries most vulnerable to disasters in the world and is considered the most cyclone-exposed country in Africa. The Androy and Anosy regions are at the sharp end of the climate crisis and have high rates of chronic malnutrition among children under five. The regions are adversely affected by extreme weather events such as cyclones, storms, and droughts.
The Rapid Rural Transformation (RRT) initiative combines two climate risk mitigation strategies to assist the people: better natural resource management through enhanced agricultural techniques to assure ongoing food production and diversifying their livelihoods to withstand climate shocks.
Working with the government, the integrated services approach helps the WFP to stimulate grassroots development, while addressing rural communities’ most pressing needs. WFP's plan is to expand the initiative to other villages and regions.
“These hubs as well are providing digital classrooms for learners, I saw young people, we are nurturing dreams there, I met people, we are even sparking artisanal enterprises," said Mr. Phiri. "I saw a welder just starting to use solar energy for his own enterprise, saw a barbershop, I saw a community that is being brought together by technology.”
Approximately 2.2 million people in the southern and south-eastern regions of Madagascar are experiencing high levels of food insecurity (IPC 3 and 4 - Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) during the pre-harvest period until April 2023. WFP works with government and partners to build effective crisis response, social protection, malnutrition prevention and resilient livelihood systems through innovative actions and approaches in the south, where the population remains highly vulnerable.
The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters, and the impact of climate change.
Ends
STORY: Madagascar Rapid Rural Transformation initiative – WFP
TRT: 2’58
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 20 January 2023
HYBRID PRESS BRIEFING
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
Geneva and Antananarivo, Madagascar (via zoom) - Shot on 20.Jan.2023
B-Roll from WFP shot in Madagascar on 18th January 2023
Location: Anosy Region, Southern Madagascar
1
1
1
Edited News | UNWOMEN
Aid agencies echoed wider warnings of growing signs of widespread starvation in Gaza on Tuesday, as UN-partnered international food security experts released their most dire assessment yet of the situation in the wartorn enclave.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNDP , UNHCR
Sudan: urgent help needed as more than 1.3 million war-displaced people begin to return home
As conflict rages on across parts of Sudan, pockets of relative safety have emerged in the past four month, spurring more than one million internally displaced Sudanese to make their way home, says the International Organization for Migration (IOM). A further 320,000 cross-border refugees have come back to Sudan since last year, mainly from Egypt and South Sudan, to assess the current situation before deciding to return to their country for good.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , WHO
Gaza: SOS messages describe people fainting from hunger; UN health worker detained
Worrying alerts from United Nations staff in Gaza who have been fainting from hunger and exhaustion over the past 48 hours have increased fears for people’s survival in the devastated enclave, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , UNOG
Over 11.6 million refugees risk losing aid access due to funding cuts, says UNHCR
Approximately one in three refugees and other vulnerable individuals normally supported by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) are expected to lose out from funding cuts, it said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, made the following announcement on the Office’s opening of a new mission in Bangladesh.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
“The surge in the number of Afghans forced or compelled to return to Afghanistan this year is creating a multi-layered human rights crisis requiring the urgent attention of the international community,” UN Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday called for accountability and justice for the killings and other gross human rights violations and abuses in the southern city of Suweida.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNHCR
Syria: hundreds killed in Sweida, ‘widespread’ violations as civilians flee for their lives
Amid violent clashes in southern Syria’s Sweida governorate, a picture of grave human rights abuses and rising humanitarian needs is emerging by the hour, the UN said on Friday.
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva the UN Human Rights Spokesperson Liz Throssell made the following statement on the latest number of civilian casualties in Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday called for investigations into hundreds of killings of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank by Israeli security forces and settlers, warning against ongoing forced mass displacement of the Palestinian population.
1
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR , UNRWA
Nearly 900 people have been killed in Gaza in recent weeks trying to fetch food, with most deaths linked to private aid hubs run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) and the UN Human Rights Office have today released a report detailing the evolution of violent gang incidents beyond the capital Port-au-Prince since October 2024 up to June 2025, and the resulting loss of life and mass displacement.