Madagascar

Humanitarian situation

Madagascar is one of the world’s poorest countries, ranking 151 out of 187, according to the 2011 Human Development Report.¹Poverty is on the rise in the country, with 75 per cent of people living below the poverty line in 2010, up from 68 per cent in 2005². Poverty is exacerbated by a geographical location and topography that expose the country to various natural hazards, including tropical cyclones, flooding and drought. Between 2003 and 2012, Madagascar was hit by a total of 22 cyclones affecting close to 3 million people, including 540,000 children under 5³. The impacts of the cyclones are multiple; including the loss of life and damage to health centres and schools infrastructure, as well as destruction of essential medicines and education materials. In addition, infected wells and latrines in the aftermath of the storms can lead to the spread of diarrhoea and other waterborne diseases. The ongoing political crisis since 2009 has resulted in the suspension of most external assistance to the country, reducing the capacity of Malagasy authorities to provide basic social services and respond to emergencies.

Results from 2012

UNICEF originally appealed for US$20,950,000 and later revised requirements down to US$11,000,000. As of 31 October, US$666,605, or 6 per cent of the requested funds, was received, severely restricting UNICEF’s capacity to meet its targets. To respond to the humanitarian needs, UNICEF reprogrammed US$200,000 from its regular resources and used prepositioned supplies. In addition, the country office received funding from the UNICEF Emergency Programme Funds, European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) funding for temporary learning spaces and assistance from the African Development Bank for school and health centre rehabilitation. Funds received from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) ‘Underfunded Emergencies Grant’ allowed increased response to people affected by Cyclone Giovanna in the health, nutrition and WASH sectors. UNICEF worked with the government and led the WASH, education and nutrition clusters. The nutrition response consisted of training community health workers on early detection of severe acute malnutrition. The health response consisted of: providing institutional support and free treatment to over 1,100 children, distributing 10,000 insecticide-treated nets and providing essential health services for 63,000 people through equipped temporary health centres. The response to the malaria outbreak included the sensitization of 127,800 people and distribution of nets to 10,000 vulnerable families with children under 5 or pregnant women. For child protection, the situation of 12,406 children was monitored, and some 400 children benefited from daily psychosocial support through eight child-friendly spaces in Antananarivo. Twenty thousand children were able to restart school thanks to the installation of tents, and 13,670 children received school supplies. Ongoing preparedness activities for the upcoming cyclone season include: disaster risk reduction (DRR) training for local education authorities and school-aged children, strengthening child-protection networks to report or address cases, DRR training for WASH stakeholders and replenishment of pre-positioned stocks to target 20,000 people.

UNICEF originally appealed for US$20,950,000 and later revised requirements down to US$11,000,000. As of 31 October, US$666,605, or 6 per cent of the requested funds, was received, severely restricting UNICEF’s capacity to meet its targets. To respond to the humanitarian needs, UNICEF reprogrammed US$200,000 from its regular resources and used prepositioned supplies. In addition, the country office received funding from the UNICEF Emergency Programme Funds, European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) funding for temporary learning spaces and assistance from the African Development Bank for school and health centre rehabilitation. Funds received from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) ‘Underfunded Emergencies Grant’ allowed increased response to people affected by Cyclone Giovanna in the health, nutrition and WASH sectors. UNICEF worked with the government and led the WASH, education and nutrition clusters. The nutrition response consisted of training community health workers on early detection of severe acute malnutrition. The health response consisted of: providing institutional support and free treatment to over 1,100 children, distributing 10,000 insecticide-treated nets and providing essential health services for 63,000 people through equipped temporary health centres. The response to the malaria outbreak included the sensitization of 127,800 people and distribution of nets to 10,000 vulnerable families with children under 5 or pregnant women. For child protection, the situation of 12,406 children was monitored, and some 400 children benefited from daily psychosocial support through eight child-friendly spaces in Antananarivo. Twenty thousand children were able to restart school thanks to the installation of tents, and 13,670 children received school supplies. Ongoing preparedness activities for the upcoming cyclone season include: disaster risk reduction (DRR) training for local education authorities and school-aged children, strengthening child-protection networks to report or address cases, DRR training for WASH stakeholders and replenishment of pre-positioned stocks to target 20,000 people.

UNICEF funding requirements for 2013

UNICEF requires US$14,980,000 to respond to the coming cyclone season based on the planned targets for 2013. Without this funding UNICEF will be unable to support an adequate national emergency response in crucial areas such as the provision of free health care, nutrition and access to WASH facilities, education and protection—all of which are critical to the well-being and survival of women and children in Madagascar. The budget also takes into account DRR activities such as reconstructing schools to cyclone-resistant standards and establishing water points and latrines with elevated platforms to protect against future flooding.