Three years without rain: the south of Madagascar is hit by the worst drought in 40 years.

That alone is a catastrophe for the population, which is almost entirely dependent on agriculture.

This year there is also the corona pandemic.

While there used to be at least seasonal jobs in tourism and other industries, these income opportunities for the population are now also lacking.

Claudia Bröll

Freelance Africa correspondent based in Cape Town.

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    The United Nations and aid agencies are warning of a famine. More than a million people in southern Madagascar are affected by acute food insecurity, 14,000 are in a catastrophic situation, the highest of five crisis levels, according to a new report by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP). "If something doesn't happen quickly, that number will double during the next lean harvest season from October."

    MSF has been working in the Amboasary district, the worst affected region, since the end of March.

    More than 12,000 people have so far been seen in mobile clinics in various places, says Djann Jutzeler, spokesman for the organization, the FAZ from Amboasary.

    Around one in five is malnourished, mostly children under the age of five.

    Whole families arrive at the clinics, usually they are completely exhausted after hours of walking.

    They initially received therapeutic food made from peanut butter paste - but that is only first aid.

    Day walks to find water

    In order to find water, the residents of the district have to travel long distances, often they are out and about from dawn until evening. They drink the water from rivers, sometimes dig for springs in the sandy soil, but often without success. Because of the poor water quality, according to Jutzeler, there is already an increase in diarrhea and other diseases caused by parasites. Doctors Without Borders currently operates two mobile clinics at nine different locations. Since there is no quick end to the crisis in sight, the organization plans to expand its operational area.

    Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in Africa.

    About 90 percent of the 26 million people live on less than two dollars a day.

    Almost half of the children suffer from chronic malnutrition and are therefore underdeveloped.

    According to the World Bank, this is the fourth highest quota in the world.

    Usually the small farmers in the south of the island sow in November, before the rainy season.

    But in recent years there has been so little rain that the seeds have not germinated and dried up in the ground.

    Otherwise, sweet potatoes, cassava, corn or rice will thrive in the district.

    But in June and September many harvests will certainly fail completely.

    The WFP expects earnings to be more than half the five-year average, and that was not abundant.

    For a year only prickly pear as food

    The sour fruits of the prickly pear have always been a salvation in times of drought. Some residents in the south of the island have not eaten anything else for more than a year, according to the Catholic Relief Fund. Usually the cacti can be found everywhere, in better times the farmers feed the fruits to their cattle. But this time even the drought-resistant cacti are rare. Heavy sandstorms have been sweeping the region since December. They transform large areas into lunar landscapes in a very short time.

    The failure of the harvests is already evident in the markets.

    The prices have risen rapidly.

    As the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations writes, rice and cassava have increased in price by 26 percent compared to the previous year.

    Corn costs twice as much.

    The aid organizations are now trying to help with cash transfers, food, water, agricultural inputs and seeds, and are working with local institutions.

    But little help can be expected from the Malagasy state, writes the FAO.

    The ministries' budgets were redirected in the first wave of infections.

    "The national health emergency due to Corona has pushed other regional concerns into the background."

    Climate change hits Madagascar particularly badly

    The drought is also devastating in terms of the environment and the climate. Madagascar is already one of the countries in Africa that will be hit hardest by climate change. At the same time, large areas of forest on the island have been cleared for years. The resulting soil erosion can be clearly seen on satellite images. One speaks of a "bleeding Madagascar" because the eroded earth colors the rivers red. After the crop failures and in the absence of other sources of income, many residents in the south of the island are now setting off with axes to chop firewood. For some it is the last thing they can sell.