UN raises red flag as 1.3m people face hunger in Madagascar
Residents of Ifotaka municipality participate in a programme to screen for malnutrition and distribute food supplements for infants on December 14, 2018.
A top United Nations aid official on Thursday renewed an appeal for solidarity and funding for Madagascar where drought has left more than 1.3 million people facing severe hunger.
According to the UN some 30,000 people are facing life-threatening famine-like conditions.
The international community must step up support to Madagascar, Issa Sanogo, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the southern African country said.
The crisis has forced families to withdraw their children from school so they can help with tasks such as finding food and water.
“The impacts of the most acute drought in over 40 years, combined with sandstorms and pests, have made it impossible for people in the Grand Sud to grow their own food for at least three years now”.
Recently, the World Food Programme warned that the situation in southern Madagascar could become the first-ever famine caused by climate change.
The UN and partners launched a $231 million appeal this year to cover operations through May 2022 although nearly $120 million has been received so far.
The UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, said more funding is urgently needed to provide food, water, health services and life-saving nutrition treatment in the months ahead.