In Madagascar, pockets of famine and children at risk of dying, warns WFP
“Pockets of famine” have been declared in Southern Madagascar, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday, after warning that the country’s most vulnerable people are the victims of what is likely the world’s first climate change-induced famine.
“We have some pockets of IPC 5 or famine-like conditions, this is basically the only, maybe the first climate change famine on earth,” said Arduino Mangoni, WFP Deputy Country Director in Madagascar, citing IPC food insecurity assessments, which are used to gauge the level of emergency aid required.
“The most intense drought in 40 years has hit this specific region in 2021,” Mr. Mangoni continued. “The elderly people who we assist in the south, they keep telling us that this is the most severe phenomenon – the ‘Kéré’, they call it - since 1981.”
In total, some 1.3 million Malagasi have been classified IPC 3, 4 and 5, according to the last available data from April. Updated IPC projections will be released at the end of the year.
“The people in IPC 3 and above – around 1.3 million as we speak today - it’s higher than people in IPC 3 and above in 2016 during the El Niño driven crisis,” the WFP official continued, noting that there was in fact little difference between categories three to five.
“If we look at the projections for the months ahead, the situation is very alarming; so let’s start with the food security part; IPC 3, 4 and 5 trends since last year have gone up, so if we only look at IPC 4, around 200,000 people (were) in IPC 4 last trimester, last quarter of last year; we have around half a million now, with a projection of people in IPC 5 as well (of) around 30,000 between now and the end of the year, when the new IPC results will be available.”
In contrast to the world’s other IPC 5 famines - in Yemen, South Sudan and Ethiopia/Tigray – which are conflict-driven, the Madagascar crisis is likely a result of devastating climate factors, the WFP official noted.
“We have some acute phenomena, like the intensity of drought …back-to-back droughts in the last five years, a new phenomenon of sandstorms probably caused by soil erosion, deforestation for the last 20 to 30 years and then of course the consequences, the impact of COVID.”
Because of the pandemic’s impact on tourism and supply chains, villagers who had sought work in towns during lean times no longer had this option, Mr. Mangoni said.
People have also exhausted their usual coping techniques - such as selling their kitchen utensils – a last resort. “We have high prices, inflation is staggering, especially for food prices, including water,” he added. “And then we also have insecurity, there is a new, again a new phenomenon of “dahalo” - bandits ravaging the area.”
According to WFP, around 500,000 under-fives are believed to be malnourished; 110,000 of them are expected to be severely malnourished between now and April 2022.
“These are the children who are at risk of dying if not supported,” Mr. Mangoni said, adding that gauging the impact of famine in very young infants is complicated as their deaths are often not recorded in those under six months.
To help those in most need, WFP has already scaled up ration and nutrition programmes; it also plans to reach more than one million people in IPC3 to 5 from in December – the peak of the lean season - “until the next good harvest”, which it is hoped will come in April 2022.
To provide this emergency aid for the next six months, the agency has appealed for $69 million.
- ends-
STORY: WFP – Madagascar Hunger Crisis
TRT: 3’02’’
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 02 Nov 2021, GENEVA, Switzerland
SHOTLIST
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF , WHO
Two years of Gaza-Israel war bring ‘indescribable’ pain: UN humanitarians
Two years since the Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel, UN humanitarians on Tuesday reiterated calls for the release of all hostages in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire and an aid surge to alleviate Palestinians’ suffering, as talks on a US-driven peace plan continued in Egypt.
1
1
1
Edited News
Syria prison survivor seeks justice for the missing with UN backing.
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday warned that three and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the war in Ukraine has entered an even more dangerous and deadly stage for Ukrainian civilians, under relentless bombardment of their schools, hospitals, and shelters.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , ICRC
Quadcopter victims, terror and death: 30 minutes in a Gaza hospital
UN aid teams on Friday highlighted the disturbing situation in Gaza’s makeshift hospitals, where premature babies cry for scant oxygen and medics attempt to save child survivors targeted by airstrikes in their tents and quadcopter victims reportedly shot while fetching bread.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday delivered his oral update to the UN Human Rights Council’s 60th session on the human rights situation in Haiti.
The High Commissioner welcomed Wednesday’s decision of the UN Security Council to strengthen the Multinational Security Support mission by transitioning to the Gang Suppression Force for Haiti, stating it is a strong signal of international support for the Haitian people.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Gaza: As world waits for US peace plan news, UN aid teams stress need for ceasefire
UN agencies reiterated calls for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza on Tuesday to help alleviate Palestinian suffering, as a new US 20-point plan raised hopes of a halt to the fighting.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
The ongoing Israeli military offensive in Gaza City continues to overwhelm the war-torn enclave’s medical professionals, with four more hospitals forced to shut down this month alone, the UN World Health Organization said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
A UN Human Rights report released today details the dire situation of thousands of civilians detained since Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine in 2022.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNICEF
Sudan war: Life-saving cholera vaccination campaign begins in Darfur
Amid the devastating war in Sudan, UN aid teams are overcoming major obstacles to curb a cholera outbreak claiming lives across the country, with young children particularly at risk.
2
1
2
Edited News , B-roll | UN WOMEN
Women and girls still reeling from Afghanistan's recent deadly earthquake face even greater suffering rebuilding their lives and livelihoods without much more help from the international community, UN Women said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Rising civilian casualties, growing ethnic violence and the grim humanitarian situation in Sudan underscore how the crisis there is deepening, according to a UN Human rights report published today.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNITED NATIONS
United Nations agencies staff demonstrates on Place des Nations in Geneva to denounce the killing of their colleagues in Gaza.