Japan steps up support to drought-stricken southern Madagascar through the World Food Programme

The Japanese funding will enable allow WFP to provide healthy, diverse assistance to nearly 39,000 severely food insecure people in Amboasary and Ambovombe, the south’s most drought-affected districts.

"Last year, in response to a "Flash Appeal" jointly launched by the Malagasy Government and the United Nations, the Government of Japan provided US$ 4.2 million in emergency food assistance that provided life-saving support to more than 70,000 people a month, " said HIGUCHI Yoshihiro, Ambassador of Japan to Madagascar and Comoros. “ Japan is continuing to back WFP, as underlined by this contribution of  US$1.6 million.”

It is particularly timely given that 1.9 million people in the south and southeast of the island are forecast to experience acute food insecurity during the next lean season: between November 2022 and April 2023, according to a recent Integrated food security Phase Classification analysis.

" The situation has improved compared to this time last year, with no district in the south suffering famine-like conditions” said Pasqualina Di Sirio, WFP Representative in Madagascar. “However, people remain highly vulnerable, so we are very grateful to donors like Japan for helping us to provide crucial assistance to these communities."

For the next lean season, WFP is seeking USD 66 million to provide life-saving food assistance to an estimated one million people in the Grand Sud, while it continues to mobilize resources to safeguard livelihoods in the longer term.