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1,000 tons of food aids for Madagascar, but food insecurity remains

Xinhua, August 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has received 1,000 tons of foods to help victims of severe food insecurity in southern Madagascar, said Tuesday by a statement from the WFP office in Antananarivo.

The foods, including sorghum, maize meal and split peas, were received on Aug. 6 at Ehoala Port in Ford-Dauphin southeast Madagascar from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

These foods will help 88,000 people affected by severe food insecurity for two months, the WFP communication assistant Volana Rarivoson told Xinhua.

"For the moment, with all supports that it already has, WFP cannot yet cover half of the 665,000 people severely food insecure in the seven most affected districts," Volana Rarivoson said.

Among the 14 districts in southern Madagascar, the seven most affected are Amboasary, Ambovombe, Ampanihy, Bekily, Beloha, Betioky and Tsihombe. They face many humanitarian needs due to drought exacerbated by the El Nino phenomenon, with a rainfall deficit of 25 to 75 percent during the 2015/2016 crop year.

Financial resources are limited and nearly 340,000 people remain in severe food insecurity without assistance in southern Madagascar, WFP said.

WFP is currently seeking funding for the school feeding program of Madagascar's Ministry of Education which provides meals for families suffering from food insecurity in the south and contributes to the improvement of access to education.

WFP fears that if additional funds are not received, 150,000 children among the 300,000 students already beneficiaries of the program may be deprived of school meals for the 2016-2017 school year. The financial requirements for 2016-2017 are estimated at 4.6 million U.S. dollars. Endit