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Madagascar - Grand Sud and Grand-Sud-est Flash Appeal, January 2021 - December 2022 (Revised in June 2022)

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Madagascar
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OCHA
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Foreword by the United Nations Resident Coordinator

Just as the Grand Sud of Madagascar was beginning to emerge from its most severe drought in 40 years, eight districts in the Grand Sud-Est of country were were severely affected by two successive cyclones in February 2022. Following successive acute droughts (December 2019 - February 2020 and November 2020 - January 2021) in the Grand Sud, which resulted in an all-time catastrophic level of food insecurity (IPC Phase 5) in Madagascar, a scaling up of the humanitarian response in 2021, combined with a relatively good rainy season in 2021-2022, significantly improved the situation. However, during this period, eight districts in the Grand Sud-Est of the country were affected by two tropical cyclones, Batsirai and Emnati, which increased humanitarian needs in the affected areas.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Government of Madagascar for its leadership in managing the humanitarian crisis in the Grand Sud, which lasted almost two years, and in leading the response to tropical cyclones Batsirai and Emnati.
The national response plan has been revised twice under the lead of the National Disaster Risk Management Office (BNGRC). The latest revision in May 2022 incorporated both drought-induced needs in the Grand Sud and cyclone-induced needs in the Sud-Est. The revised plan aims to provide emergency multisectoral assistance to 2.1 million people over the next six months (June to December 2022) in the Grand Sud and the Sud-est, while considering the basis for longer-term resilience and development.

Complementing the extension of the national plan, and in consultation with the National Authorities, we have revised, extended and expanded the humanitarian Flash Appeal in order to mobilize additional resources for life-saving interventions until the end of 2022 for drought- and cyclone-affected areas. This third version of the Flash Appeal calls for an additional US$154.7 million over the next six months, targeting 1.9 million people, to complement the Government's response. It will aim to provide: 1.9 million people with food assistance, 1.3 million people with access to safe drinking water, 58,000 malnourished children and 22,000 pregnant and lactating women with nutritional support, 310,000 people with free basic health services, 14,600 pregnant women with health care, and 1 million people with access to water, as well as protection support and assistance for women exposed to genderbased violence (GBV) and children exposed to protection risks.

Despite its humanitarian nature, this third version of the Appeal emphasises a resilience approach, taking into account the specific needs of communities in drought- and cyclone-affected areas. In addition, actions undertaken within the framework of this Appeal will continue to support existing Government structures, in particular the BNGRC, the Nutritional and Medical Rehabilitation Centres (CRNM) and the Food Bank.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every donor who has contributed to the funding of successive Appeals since its launch in January 2021. The extended Appeal (covering January 2021 to May 2022) is now 81 per cent funded, a level never before achieved in the region, demonstrating the strong solidarity and commitment of international partners to assist the people and communities of the Grand Sud.

Your support has enabled a massive scale-up of humanitarian operations, which have played a key role in preventing the risk of famine identified in the Grand Sud in June 2021. Humanitarian partners provided critical assistance and protection to 1.1 million of the 1.3 million people targeted between January 2021 and May 2022. For the first time in history, the drought response mobilized air support to reach very hard-to-reach areas, there was also a 67 per cent increase in humanitarian workers in the Grand Sud from January to September 2021, while four humanitarian clusters were activated (Food Security and Livelihoods, Nutrition, WASH and Health) for the response.

As we enter the second half of the year, it is essential that we maintain our humanitarian response to save lives, restore livelihoods and build resilience in drought- and cyclone-affected communities in the Grand Sud and Grand Sud-est of Madagascar.

Together, in support of the Government's response, we can ensure that people whose lives have been threatened by drought and cyclones can finish this year in much better shape than they started it. We are counting on your generous support.

Issa Sanogo

Resident Coordinator for Madagascar

Crisis Overview

As the people in Madagascar’s Grand Sud were beginning to emerge from the worst drought endured in more than 40 years, the country was struck by six tropical weather systems from January to April 2022, killing at least 214 people and affecting about 571,100. On 17 January 2022, Tropical Storm Ana arrived in Madagascar, bringing heavy rainfall and flooding that affected about 131,500 people and killed 55, mostly in the central and northern parts of the country. Subsequently, Tropical Cyclone Batsirai made landfall near Mananjary town on 5 February—affecting the regions of Atsimo Atsinanana, Vatovavy and Fitovinany regions—and Tropical Cyclone Emnati made landfall south of Manakara town on 23 February, impacting the same areas. In between these two cyclones, Tropical Storm Dumako impacted Madagascar on 15 February near Sainte Marie in the Analanjirofo region, bringing flooding in the north-eastern regions and causing 14 deaths. Tropical Storm Gombe then made landfall on 8 March with no significant damage, followed by moderate Tropical Storm Jasmine, which affected more than 4,800 people and killed 5 in the southern part of Madagascar after its arrival on 26 April.

The Grand Sud-Est of the country—composed of the regions of Vatovavy, Fitovavy and Atsimo Atsinanana—was hardest-hit by the severe weather, with tropical cyclones Batsirai and Emnati making landfall in the space of two weeks. The two cyclones affected 423,800 people, including 121 people killed by Batsirai and 15 by Emnati.
Livelihoods in the region—which is ordinarily relatively food secure— were decimated, with 70 per cent of households reporting damage to the rice-growing areas of Nosy Varika and Vohipeno, 80 per cent reporting losses of fruit crops and 100 per cent reporting losses of cash crops, including coffee, vanilla and cloves. The cyclones also caused significant damage, with production losses and damage estimated at over $160 million, including loss of household livelihoods, housing infrastructure and community school infrastructure.

Food insecurity has risen in the Grand Sud-Est due to the effects of the cyclones, with five of the six districts in the Grand Sud-Est region expected to be in Crisis (IPC phase 3) from April to August 2022. This is the first time that Crisis (IPC phase 3) and above food insecurity has been projected in the Grand Sud-Est, where food insecurity does not ordinarily rise above the Stressed (IPC phase 2) level. Around 67,000 people will be in Emergency (IPC Phase 4). According to the agricultural sector, 492,000 people will require immediate post-harvest assistance as part of the agricultural recovery.

Meanwhile, the situation in the Grand Sud—which was buffeted by back to back droughts during the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 rainy seasons—remains precarious. Following a large scale-up in humanitarian assistance, food insecurity and malnutrition improved in the Grand Sud in the first half of 2022, which is particularly notable as this coincided with the peak of the lean season. No district will be in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) from May to November 2022, according to the latest Integrated Food Insecurity Classification (IPC) analysis, and the number of people in the Grand Sud facing IPC Phase 3 and above decreased from more than 1.1 million people in 2021 to just over 1 million from April to August 2022. Likewise, global acute malnutrition (GAM) rates in the most drought-affected districts decreased to 8.4 per cent (from 9.2 per cent in September 2021), and severe acute malnutrition was 0.7 per cent. However, the situation remains fragile, with 7 out of 10 districts remaining in Crisis (IPC phase 3) food insecurity and the number of people in Crisis or above food insecurity remaining above the 5-year average. The planting of crops in 2022 was delayed by a poor start to the season and, although crops were eventually planted following the rains brought by cyclones and storms, the heavy rains also contributed to a resurgence of migratory locusts and good conditions for fall armyworm.

The cyclones and drought have had devastating consequences for women and children. The risk of women and girls being exposed to gender-based violence has been exacerbated by each of these disasters and more than 6,900 cases of gender-based violence were recorded in the Grand Sud and Grand Sud-Est in 2021 and the first quarter of 2022, with 92 per cent of survivors being women and 8 per cent men. At the same time, families have adopted desperate coping mechanisms, with child labour, child marriage and sexual violence (including sexual abuse and sexual exploitation) highlighted as the three main child protection concerns during a rapid protection assessment in the Grand Sud.

Children’s access to education has also been compromised: schools were damaged by the cyclones, while children in the Grand Sud dropped out of school to help their families survive the drought by searching for food and water or performing child labour—including selling water, petty trade, begging and zebu-sitting. Increased child marriage has forced girls out of school, particularly in the Grand Sud, where five regions (Anosy, Androy, Atsimo Andrefana, Atsimo Atsinanana) already had some of the highest child marriage rates in the country prior to the drought.

Each of these emergencies has also compromised access to clean water and heightened the risk of communicable diseases. In all nine districts affected by the drought, access to potable water remains low, forcing the majority of the population to use surface water. In cycloneaffected districts, WASH infrastructure was destroyed or contaminated.
Affected areas face high prevalence of childhood diseases, including diarrhoea, malaria and respiratory infections, while vaccination coverage is low. Malaria is also affecting both the Grand Sud and Grand Sud-Est regions, especially Anosy, Atsimo Andrefana and Atsimo Atsinanana. The Grand Sud is also at risk of poliovirus and measles outbreaks, with two cases of vaccine-derived poliovirus reported in Atsimo Andrefana region in the past 12 months and three confirmed measles cases reported in the Atsimo Atsinanana region since the beginning of 2012.

As a result, there are now at least 1.9 million people in the Grand Sud (1.15 million) and Grand Sud-Est (0.75 million) who are estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance between June and December 2022.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.