2021–2022 Madagascar famine
Drought conditions in Southern Madagascar in 2021.
CountryMadagascar
LocationSouthern Madagascar
PeriodJune 2021 – present
TheorySevere drought, irregular rainfall

In mid-2021, a severe drought in southern[1] Madagascar caused hundreds of thousands of people, with some estimating more than 1 million people including nearly 460,000 children, to suffer from food insecurity[2] or famine.[3] Some organizations have attributed the situation to the impact of climate change and the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.[1][note 1]

Background

Madagascar is frequently exposed to severe extreme weather and climate events. Between 1980 and 2013, Madagascar experienced 63 major natural disasters, including cyclones, floods, severe droughts, earthquakes, epidemics,[4][5] and a "locust plague of biblical proportions".[6] In 2020, UNICEF had expressed early concerns about malnutrition in Madagascar, estimating that 42% of children under the age of five suffered from malnourishment.[7] As of June 2021, the southern region of Madagascar was hit by the worst drought in 40 years.[1][8] The situations further worsens because people in the area are smallholder farmers and depend on their own agriculture and homegrown meals.[8] In late June 2021, David Beasley, the chief of the UN-agency World Food Programme (WFP) warned that a "catastrophic" hunger is hitting the region and the WFP has asked for $78.6 million in immediate aid.[9] Another WFP official said the situation was the second worst food crisis he had seen in his life after the 1998 famine in Bahr el Ghazal, in present-day South Sudan.[2]

An early report conducted in June 2021 by Duke University School of Nursing found that three-fourths of vanilla farmers in the northern Sava Region of Madagascar were also suffering from food insecurity due to fluctuations of the vanilla market and natural disasters, potentially indicating that the food crisis is spreading to other parts of Madagascar.[10]

Causes and events

The causes of the drought and subsequent food crisis have been attributed to the lack of rain which usually takes place in November and December and half of the usual rainfall occurring during October 2020.[5] The scenes of the food crisis have been described as "horrific" and the World Bank has said that climate change has worsened the situation. The WFP further reported the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country closed markets and prevented migratory workers from finding jobs.[11]

By late June 2021, the WFP reported that 75% of children had abandoned school and were begging or foraging for food. Intense dust storms were further aggravating the circumstances.[12] Humanitarian agencies also warned of water shortages and that a water pipeline inaugurated by UNICEF and the government of Madagascar in 2019 did not reach to provide fresh water to some parts of the south, forcing people to move more than 15 kilometers to seek water.[12]

The WFP reported on 23 June 2021 that people were eating mud and that 500,000 were "knocking on famine's doors" while 800,000 others were directly heading to it.[5]

On 30 June 2021, the WFP said that a "biblical" famine was approaching in several African countries, especially in Madagascar and that the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant "impacted worse in low-income and underdeveloped nations amid a global pandemic".[13] Reports of people eating raw red cactus fruits, wild leaves and locusts for months also arose.[14] Meanwhile, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned of "severe malnutrition" on 130,000 Malagasy children aged five and younger, by early June 2021. On 1 July 2021, UN agencies reported that in southern villages, people had resorted to eating ashes mixed with tamarind and shoe leather.[15]

The UK-based organization SEED Madagascar reported that people are eating "cactuses, swamp plants, and insects", while also reporting that mothers are mixing clay and fruits to feed their families. Evidence of swollen stomachs and physically stunted children were also reported by the organization as symptoms of chronic malnutrition.[16]

Local media has said that out of the 2.5 million people who live in the southern districts of Madagascar, around 1.2 million are already suffering from food insecurity, while another 400,000, are in a critical situation of famine, citing concerns equal to international organizations such as climate change, COVID-19 and political instability in the country.[17]

Other outlets said that from October 2020 until April 2021, at least 750,000 people per month received emergency food assistance and cash transfers from the government. Of those people, there were 12,000 children aged 6 to 23 months, who were assisted. Pregnant and breastfeeding women also required nutritional supplements and fortified foods, in four critical southern districts. Also, media pointed to sources stating that since the start of 2021, around 56,000 children aged between 2 and 5 were treated for moderate malnutrition.[18]

On 14 July 2021, a government report was issued, with collaboration of distinguished academic and professor Hanta Vololontiana. The report stated that the rate of chronic malnutrition was in decline and that the aim of the government was to decrease the prevalence of such condition from 47.3% to less than 38% and to keep the rate of acute malnutrition in children below the age of five, to below of 5% overall. The government also pointed to a program to integrate agriculture, livestock, fisheries, water, sanitation and hygiene, social protection, education, environment and scientific research via specific nutrition, sensitive nutrition and governance.[19]

By late July 2021, however, the situation was described as "famine" by outlets such as Al Jazeera[20] and Time magazine.[21] Al Jazeera published the story of a woman pleading for desperate help for her five-year-old girl in the Anosy region in the southernmost region of Madagascar.[20] Also, Time quoted WFP's chief Beasley as describing the crisis as "climate change-caused" and the first in modern history to be caused by such phenomenon.[21][22] He also warned the situation will worsen.[21]

Beasley also added that children in Madagascar have no "energy to cry" and compared the scenes to a "horror film" saying that the situation currently being experienced by Madagascar is worse than those he had seen in the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the Republic of the Congo and in Sudan.[23]

The UN continued to monitor the situation during July 2021, stating that children under the age of five with lifelong nutrition problems had increased to half a million and that over 110,000 were in "acute and severe malnutrition".[24]

In August 2021, the food crisis was attributed to be the first famine caused by climate change and not conflict, according to WFP official Shelley Thakral.[25][26][27] The claim of the famine being caused by climate change was contradicted by a study released December 1, 2021 by World Weather Attribution.[28]

Reactions and responses

The government of president Andry Rajoelina received backlash over the situation, with one journalist confronting him on the issue during a press conference.[29]

Various agencies and governments have pledged help to Madagascar to combat the edging famine and food crisis. The Malagasy government pledged aid with the support of the United Nations and WFP, with the aim of helping 1.14 million Malagasy people on the edge of starvation.[14] Leaders of the G20 group also discussed the situation and pledged to do more to help the world's hungry and to combat climate change with Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio giving a conference on the issue. The G20 also announced the "Matera Declaration" a call to do more on food insecurity. The United States government pledged an additional $40 million in aid in June to combat hunger in southern Madagascar during an announcement made by US ambassador to Madagascar Michael Pelletier along with Malagasy President Andry Rajoelina. The ambassador also urged the government to help its people.[1][30] The government of South Korea pledged $200,000 in humanitarian aid to Madagascar.[31]

United Nations and University of Liège environmental researcher and academic François Gemenne said that the edging famine in Madagascar was not completely caused by climate change, pointing the example that the impact of such issue would not cause a famine in France. He instead pointed to political motives as well, such as the political instability in Madagascar for years.[32]

The government also issued a decree granting 15,000 households with butane gas and a free stove kit to replace other resources. The butane gas, earlier considered a luxury, will be available as an alternative for energy substitution compared to charcoal.[33]

Mark Jacobs, of the UK-based organization SEED Madagascar, also blamed climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic for the famine and warned of rising prices in food in the areas where the organization works in the country. Jacobs also called people, especially business people in Hertfordshire, where the organization is based, to donate and help increase the budget of £100,000.[16]

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) began to set up mobile clinics in the country in March 2021 in anticipation of the incoming drought. According to the organization, they have set up in the town of Ambovombe, in the southern tip of Ambovombe District and have helped 4,339 suffering from different levels of malnutrition. MSF also warned that the condition of malnourished children further worsened by complicating diseases such as malaria (affecting 22% of young patients), respiratory infections (18 percent), and diarrheal diseases (14 percent). MSF has also begun to treat inpatient care.[34]

Gaëlle Borgia, an investigative researcher and journalist, said that signs of the food insecurity situation were visible long earlier in 2020 and had warned that if the Malagasy authorities seemed reluctant to admit the situation, it was difficult to ignore the multiple alerts recorded for months, including that of the United Nations.[7]

The government of President Andry Rajoelina received backlash over the edging famine, with a journalist confronting him during a press conference in Antananarivo.[29]

On 16 July 2021, at a summit of African leaders, Rajoelina pleaded to world leaders to act on climate change referencing the situation in the south of Madagascar. He also reported that a UN representative and the Swiss ambassador to Madagascar had recently visited Ambovombe to check the situation.[35]

My compatriots in the South are suffering a heavy toll from the climate crisis in which they did not participate.

—Andry Rajoelina, president of Madagascar, July 2021.[36]

A report of July 2021 said that if "no action is taken", the situation is going to peak by January 2022 and to worsen drastically between October and December 2021, with insufficient food stock and inflation caused by COVID-19. It also predicted that up to more than 500,000 people will be in phase 4 of malnutrition.[37]

On 19 July 2021, Rajoelina called for a "radical and lasting change" during a summit of the International Development Association in Abidjan, in Ivory Coast. Rajoelina criticized those who cause climate change by saying that "my compatriots in the South are suffering a heavy toll from the climate crisis in which they did not participate." and promised more help to the south and empowerment of women.[36]

The Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, also pled on social media for help for Malagasy people.[36]

In late July 2021, the U.S. embassy further expanded its aid through USAID to more than 100,000 people in the south providing food to children and pregnant women facing malnutrition. The embassy also donated further $7.5 million dollars.[38]

German Roman Catholic bishops have pled for help for children in southern Madagascar, with Archbishop Ludwig Schick leading efforts to raise awareness of the situation of famine in the country.[39]

In late August 2021, a United Nations resident coordinator for Madagascar, Issa Sanogo, warned that the situation was still critical and warned that "the hunger season is coming" as he also said that further 500,000 children are at risk during the course of the near future. The United Nations repeated its warning that the country is on the verge of a "humanitarian crisis."[40]

In November 2021, ABC World News Tonight travelled to the area, with anchor David Muir reporting from there. As a result of the airing of the report, around 22,000 donors amounted to $2.7 million in aid, which will directly go to WFP to help on the ground.[41]

In October 2022, UNICEF contributed with $23 millions for children suffering from the famine,[42] which continued in the south, with a third of the population suffering from the disaster, according to researchers cited by the Financial Times.[43]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ As of 3 October 2022, Madagascar reported 66,684 cases and 1,410 deaths from COVID-19.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Taylor, Adam (1 July 2021). "Madagascar is headed toward a climate change-linked famine it did not create". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 "UN says 400,000 are approaching starvation in Madagascar amid back-to-back droughts". France24. 26 June 2021. Archived from the original on 2 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  3. ↑ "À Madagascar, la famine touche plus d'un million de personnes" [In Madagascar, famine affects more than a million people] (in French). Media Part France. 8 July 2021. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  4. ↑ Rakotoarison, Norohasina; Raholijao, Nirivololona; Razafindramavo, Lalao Madeleine; Rakotomavo, Zo Andrianina Patrick Herintiana; Rakotoarisoa, Alain; Guillemot, Joy Shumake; Randriamialisoa, Zazaravaka Jacques; Mafilaza, Victor; Ramiandrisoa, Voahanginirina Anne Marie Pierrette; Rajaonarivony, Rhino; Andrianjafinirina, Solonomenjanahary (December 2018). "Assessment of Risk, Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change by the Health Sector in Madagascar". International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 15 (12): 2643. doi:10.3390/ijerph15122643. ISSN 1661-7827. PMC 6313613. PMID 30486244.
  5. 1 2 3 Adjetey, Elvis (23 June 2021). "Madagascar: Families eating mud due to worst drought in 40 years". Africa Feeds. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  6. ↑ James A. Foley (26 March 2013). "Biblical Locust Plague Threatens Madagascar". Nature World News. Archived from the original on 29 March 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  7. 1 2 "L'ONU estime que le Grand Sud de Madagascar se trouve en « situation d'insécurité alimentaire grave »" [The UN considers the Great South of Madagascar to be in "a situation of serious food insecurity"] (in French). Agence Ecofin. 10 July 2021. Archived from the original on 10 July 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  8. 1 2 "UN pleads for cash as one million people go hungry in Madagascar". Africa News. 25 June 2021. Archived from the original on 30 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  9. ↑ Besheer, Margaret (22 June 2021). "WFP: Catastrophic Hunger Descending on Southern Madagascar". Voice of America. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  10. ↑ Herrera, James P.; Rabezara, Jean-Yves; Anjara Fifi Ravelomanantsoa, Ni; Metz, Miranda; France, Courtni; Owens, Ajilé; Pender, Michelle; Nunn, Charles L.; Kramer, Randall A. (June 2021). "Food insecurity related to agricultural practices and household characteristics in rural communities of northeast Madagascar". Food Security. Springer Science and Business Media. 13 (6): 1393–1405. doi:10.1007/s12571-021-01179-3. PMC 8222503. PMID 34188720. Archived from the original on 13 July 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  11. ↑ "Humanitarian crisis looms in Madagascar amid drought and pandemic". UN News. 12 January 2021. Archived from the original on 8 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  12. 1 2 "Drought and famine stalk desperate Madagascar". Prevention Web. 23 June 2021. Archived from the original on 3 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021 – via www.preventionweb.net.
  13. ↑ AFP (30 June 2021). "World Food Programme warns of "biblical" famine without action". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  14. 1 2 Cassidy, Amy; McKenzie, David; Formanek, Ingrid (23 June 2021). "Climate change has pushed a million people in Madagascar to the 'edge of starvation,' UN says". CNN. Archived from the original on 30 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  15. ↑ Jones, Harrison (1 July 2021). "Biblical drought has left people 'eating ash and shoe leather' in Madagascar". Metro.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  16. 1 2 "Madagascar is on the brink of crisis – and a Hertfordshire charity is helping families survive". Hertfordshire Mercury. 8 July 2021. Archived from the original on 8 July 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  17. ↑ Landaz, Mahaut; Garnier, Valentin (9 July 2021). "Réchauffement climatique, Covid-19, contexte politique… A Madagascar, une famine dramatique à plusieurs facteurs" [Global warming, Covid-19, political context ... In Madagascar, a dramatic famine with several factors] (in French). Nouvelobs. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  18. ↑ "Madagascar – Crise alimentaire : "la situation est extrêmement sévère dans le sud", selon le PAM" [Madagascar – Food crisis: "the situation is extremely severe in the south", according to WFP] (in French). Linfo.re. 9 July 2021. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  19. ↑ "Le taux de prévalence de la malnutrition chronique en baisse" [Chronic malnutrition prevalence rate declining]. Madagascar Tribune (in French). 15 July 2021. Archived from the original on 15 July 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  20. 1 2 "'Nothing left': A catastrophe in Madagascar's famine-hit south". Al Jazeera. 23 July 2021. Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  21. 1 2 3 Baker, Aryn (23 July 2021). "Climate, Not Conflict. Madagascar's Famine is the First in Modern History to be Solely Caused by Global Warming". Time. Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  22. ↑ Rodrigues, Charlene (22 July 2021). "Madagascar famine becomes first in history to be caused solely by climate crisis". The Independent. Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  23. ↑ Fox, Jackie (24 July 2021). "Starving children in Madagascar 'do not have the energy to cry'". RTE. Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  24. ↑ "Child malnutrition expected to rise in drought-hit Madagascar". The East African. 29 July 2021. Archived from the original on 28 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  25. ↑ "Madagascar is hit by the world's first climate change famine". TRT World. 27 August 2021. Archived from the original on 28 August 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  26. ↑ "Madagascar on the brink of climate change-induced famine". BBC. 27 August 2021. Archived from the original on 28 August 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  27. ↑ "'Unprecedented': Madagascar on Verge of World's First Climate-Fueled Famine". EcoWatch. 25 August 2021. Archived from the original on 28 August 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  28. ↑ Borenstein, Seth (1 December 2021). "Study: Climate change not causing Madagascar drought, famine". AP NEWS. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  29. 1 2 "Une journaliste interpelle Andry Rajoelina sur la famine dans le sud de Madagascar" [Journalist challenges Andry Rajoelina on famine in southern Madagascar]. Koolsaina (in French). 21 June 2021. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  30. ↑ "U.S. Government Provides Nearly $40 Million in Additional Emergency Assistance for Southern Madagascar". www.mg.usembassy.gov. United States embassy in Madagascar. 14 June 2021. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  31. ↑ "S. Korea to offer $200,000 in emergency humanitarian aid to Madagascar". Korea Herald. Yonhap. 11 June 2021. Archived from the original on 20 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  32. ↑ "François Gemenne : « La famine est toujours un processus politique »" [François Gemenne: "Famine is always a political process"] (in French). 6 July 2021. Archived from the original on 5 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021 – via www.humanite.fr.
  33. ↑ "Gaz butane : 15.000 ménages vont bénéficier d'un kit de réchaud gratuit" [Butane gas: 15,000 households will benefit from a free stove kit]. Madagascar Tribune (in French). 6 July 2021. Archived from the original on 5 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  34. ↑ "MSF steps up response to nutrition crisis in Madagascar". www.doctorswithoutborders.org. Médecins Sans Frontières. 9 July 2021. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  35. ↑ "Andry Rajoelina plaide en faveur des victimes du changement climatique" [Andry Rajoelina advocates for victims of climate change]. Madagascar Tribune (in French). 16 July 2021. Archived from the original on 16 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  36. 1 2 3 "Famine dans le Sud de Madagascar : il faut "apporter un changement radical et durable", plaide Andry Rajoelina" [Famine in the South of Madagascar: we must "bring about a radical and lasting change", pleads Andry Rajoelina] (in French). Linfo. 19 July 2021. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  37. ↑ "Famine dans le Sud de Madagascar : la période entre octobre et décembre 2021 s'annonce difficile" [Famine in southern Madagascar: the period between October and December 2021 promises to be difficult] (in French). Linfo. 19 July 2021. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  38. ↑ "100,000 People in Southern Madagascar to Benefit from New U.S. Government Assistance". U.S. embassy in Madagascar. 26 July 2021. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  39. ↑ Gomes, Robin (31 July 2021). "German bishops appeal for Madagascar, plagued by drought, hunger". Vatican News. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  40. ↑ Bhuckory, Kamlesh (24 August 2021). "Famine crisis looms in Madagascar after worst drought since 1981". Times Live Zambia. Archived from the original on 24 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  41. ↑ Castillejo, Esther (5 November 2021). "Famine-stricken Madagascar donations pour in from 'World News Tonight' viewers". ABC News. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  42. ↑ Floch, Fabrice (3 October 2022). "Madagascar : 23 millions de dollars pour lutter contre la famine des enfants" [Madagascar: $23 million to fight child starvation]. réunion.1 (in French). Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  43. ↑ Pilling, David; Bibby, Charlie (2 August 2022). "Why famine in Madagascar is an alarm bell for the planet". Financial Times. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
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