Drought and malnutrition in the south of Madagascar: MSF starts emergency activities The food lean season, which usually ends in April, is becoming more critical every year in the desert regions of southern Madagascar. Three consecutive years of drought have severely affected harvests and access to food, in a context now marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has led to a drop in seasonal jobs and other sources of income linked to tourism. From December onwards, violent sand winds also covered part of the arable land and food used during the lean season, such as cactus fruit. As a result, the chronic food and nutrition crisis, known on the island as kéré , is currently hitting the inhabitants even harder.