Items will help repair houses, prevent waterborne disease

ANTANANARIVO – As part of the American people’s ongoing commitment to provide Madagascar with relief from past and future climatic shocks, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) sent last week 48.8 metric tons of humanitarian relief assistance worth $1.2 million in coordination with the country’s National Office for Risk and Disaster Management.

Two flights landed on May 29 and 31 loaded with non-food items, including plastic tarpaulins and kits to repair damaged houses; household items like pots, pans, and buckets; and water purification products to prevent water-borne diseases from contaminated floodwaters. Some 25,000 people in 5,000 affected households will benefit.

These items will continue to support people already affected by the cyclones and drought and will be available to quickly provide assistance in the case of future climatic shocks.

Madagascar is among the countries most affected by climate change. The southern region is experiencing a third consecutive year of severe drought causing a severe food security crisis, and 2022 has already seen four severe cyclones that destroyed homes, infrastructure, and livelihoods. An ongoing response and the pre-positioning of relief supplies is, therefore, critical to the country’s resilience to natural disasters.

“This year’s cyclones have come and gone, but their impact can still be felt in large swaths of the southeast,” USAID Mission Director John Dunlop said of the delivery. “These deliveries will help those suffering from earlier disasters, as well as others to come.”

USAID partners, CARE, the International Federation of Red Cross, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, and UNICEF, will deliver the items to affected residents and manage the stored items for future needs. This assistance complements ongoing shelter reconstruction, food assistance, borehole rehabilitation and seeds distribution assistance.

The United States is the largest bilateral donor for humanitarian assistance in Madagascar. Current projects funded in southern Madagascar are feeding more than 894,000 people, treating and preventing malnutrition in 414,000 women and children, improving water access for 54,000 people, and assisting more than 565,000 farmers with agricultural recovery activities.

The U.S. government stands side-by-side with Madagascar as “mpirahalahy mianala” to help the Malagasy people recover from and be more resilient to natural disasters. Since 2020, USAID has donated $104 million in food assistance to drought- and cyclone-affected households, millions of vaccines, and other assistance to prevent the spread and fight the impact of the COVID-19.

Press Release by U.S. Embassy Antananarivo - USAID Madagascar