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MSF responds to a nutritional crisis in southern Madagascar - Madagascar

MSF responds to a nutritional crisis in southern Madagascar
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Improving access to water is an important part of MSF s response. Madagascar 2021 © Ainga Razafy/MSF
This year, more than any other, the southeastern regions of Madagascar are suffering from drought and a prolonged lack of rain. In an area where most people rely on farming for food and income, the dry spell’s effect on the harvest has been devastating. It s the “ kéré, ” as the locals say, a term describing the lack of food and hunger.
“If the season is good, we grow rice and sweet potatoes,” said Mandilsoa, chief of the Kapila fonkontany (village) in Ranobe commune. “But there has been no rain for the last three years, so we can t cultivate anything. We hope that the rain will come, otherwise we will die.”

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Drought and malnutrition in the south of Madagascar: MSF starts emergency activities

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.

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