American Chamber of Commerce in Madagascar .
ANTANANARIVO – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on behalf of the American people has provided an additional $5.1 million in assistance for Madagascar’s COVID-19 response. This funding, which supports national and community level primary health care facilities, will accelerate widespread and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccination and reduce morbidity and mortality from COVID-19.
Through this assistance, Madagascar can enhance its planning, preparedness, and response to the pandemic, particularly ensuring the necessary infrastructure is in place to make vaccines available to the people of Madagascar. For example, these funds will help support disease monitoring and surveillance to detect outbreaks of the virus; vaccine and medical supply delivery; protective equipment and training for Madagascar’s health workers; laboratory testing upgrades and expansion, and public information on COVID-19 protection.
Four USAID projects, working in collaboration with other key actors, are undertaking these activities in support of the Government of Madagascar’s COVID-19 response: RISE, implemented by the Institut Pasteur de Madagascar; USAID IMPACT, implemented by Population Services International; USAID ACCESS, implemented by Management Sciences for Health; and Infection Disease Detection and Surveillance, implemented by ICF International.
This assistance is part of the U.S. government’s $720 million global effort to expand and intensify the fight against COVID-19 abroad, respond to humanitarian crises exacerbated by COVID-19, and support a global recovery while preparing for future pandemic threats.
The U.S. Government has been a leading partner to Madagascar, standing side-by-side like “mpirahalahy mianala” in responding to outbreaks of plague, measles, malaria, and COVID-19, and remains the largest single-country donor to Madagascar's health sector, providing $74.5 million in 2020 alone to strengthen the country’s health system.
Source: Press Release by USAID Madagascar / U.S. Embassy Madagascar
ANTANANARIVO – Today, the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Health Office Director, Sophia Brewer, and a Representative from the Ministry of Public Health officially closed out a collaborative project focused on improving access to quality healthcare services, primarily through private-sector engagement. The project, Sustaining Health Outcomes through the Private Sector otherwise known as SHOPS Plus, has been implemented by ABT Associates since 2015.
On behalf of the American people, USAID has funded SHOPS Plus with more than $10 million over six years. During this time, the project established public-private partnerships, reduced financial barriers by improving private providers’ access to health financing, and enhanced healthcare services by creating and deploying sustainable healthcare and health management training.
Major Achievements of SHOPS Plus:
Government's health commodity distribution and logistics system strengthened by identifying public-private partnership opportunities.
This partnership is an excellent example of how the United States and Madagascar are working together like “mpirahalahy mianala” to improve health outcomes through the delivery of family planning and reproductive health, maternal and child health, and malaria treatment that is accessible to all at any time.
The U.S. government is the largest single-country donor to Madagascar's health sector, providing $74.5 million in 2020 alone to fund USAID’s health projects. These projects reduce Madagascar's maternal and child mortality, provide access to potable water and sanitation, protect communities from malaria, improve access to family planning, ensure a reliable supply chain of vital health care supplies and medication, and reinforce the national community health policy.
Source: Presse Release by USAID Madagascar - U.S. Embassy Antananarivo
ANTANANARIVO – The U.S. Embassy in Madagascar and Comoros congratulated 11 young Malagasy leaders for completing a six-week intensive U.S. leadership training known as the Mandela Washington Fellowship in an official ceremony last night.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship is the flagship program of the U.S. government’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). In past years, it has provided accomplished young leaders with the opportunity to study for six weeks at a university in the United States. In 2020, however, COVID-19 forced the program to change. Those selected for the program had to postpone their Fellowship or a year – only for it to become a virtual program in 2021.
Referencing these challenges, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Amy J. Hyatt said, “Confronted with these changes, you demonstrated perseverance. You displayed resilience, recovering quickly from each challenge. You remained adaptable, embracing the new virtual format and the opportunities that came with it. These are exactly the leadership traits we need right now.”
This year’s Mandela Washington Fellows from Madagascar include: Manamamonjy Alexandre (Civic Engagement track at the University of Delaware); Heriniaina Andriamalala (Public Management track at Georgia State University); Henintsoa Rakotoarison (Public Management at Wayne State University); James Rakotomalala (Business and Entrepreneurship at Clark Atlanta University); Tojosoa Ramarlina (Business and Entrepreneurship at Lehigh University); Tsiry Randrianavelo (Civic Engagement at the University of Georgia); Vony Randrianonenana (Civic Engagement at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln); Misa Rasolofoarison (Public Management at Arizona State University); Nadia Ratsimba (Business and Entrepreneurship at University of Notre Dame); and Patricia Razafindrakala (Public Management track at Georgia State University).
Addressing this group during the ceremony, the Vice Minister in charge of Youth and YALI Regional Center alumna Tahina Juliana Ratovoson said, “The reason why you’ve been selected for such a program is that you are among the best.” Minister of Economy and Finance Rindra Hasimbelo Rabarinirinarison and Minister in charge of Fishing and Blue Economy Paubert Tsimanaoraty Mahatante – both alumni of the Mandela Washington Fellowship – also joined the ceremony to congratulate this year’s Fellows.
Since 2014, more than 75 young Malagasy leaders have been selected for the Mandela Washington Fellowship.
Source: Press Release by U.S. Embassy Madagascar
This donation is part of the U.S. government’s partnership with the Ministry of Public Health to improve the quality of health services for the Malagasy people.
MAHAJANGA – The American people, through our development agency the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), have donated 200 beds and mattresses and other medical materials and equipment to health centers in the Boeny and Sofia regions of northwestern Madagascar. The donation was implemented by the USAID ACCESS health project, in partnership with Project C.U.R.E., a U.S. non-governmental organization that supplies medical equipment to developing countries. This equipment, worth $1.5 million, also includes diagnostic tools, birthing kits, intravenous solution stands, and scales that will be dispatched to 13 districts in the regions. The donation is part of the U.S. government’s effort to provide needed health equipment and supplies to help improve the quality of health services in Madagascar. Previous donations were made to the Atsinanana, Analanjirofo, Vatovavy Fitovinany and Atsimo Andrefana regions.
Improving the quality of health services is a priority for the ACCESS health project, and providing medical materials and equipment is a key to improving health quality. Rural people will particularly benefit from today’s donation, and they will have greater trust in their health centers’ capacity to deliver health care.
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The donation included 200 beds and mattresses. (Photo by USAID Madagascar)
Focused on the most vulnerable, underserved, and poorest people in 13 of Madagascar’s 22 regions, the USAID ACCESS project aims to improve the health of the Malagasy people. The project also supports the Ministry of Public Health in its COVID-19 response activities at national and regional levels, including infection prevention and control, surveillance, and awareness-raising efforts, strengthening national coordination, and support to vaccine roll-out.
The U.S. government and the Government of Madagascar are working together like “mpirahalahy mianala” to improve the capacity and quality of health care in Madagascar. The U.S. government remains the largest single-country donor to Madagascar's health sector, providing $74.5 million in 2020 alone to fund USAID’s health projects. These projects reduce Madagascar's maternal and child mortality, provide access to potable water and sanitation, protect communities from malaria, improve access to family planning, ensure a reliable supply chain of vital health care supplies and medication, and reinforce the national community health policy.
Source: Press release by U.S. Embassy Antananarivo / USAID Madagascar
ANTANANARIVO – Rigorous, modern methods for teaching English should also be interactive, communicative, and fun. That is the main lesson that thirty experienced or emerging teacher- trainers from Antananarivo learned through the U.S. Embassy’s American English Training-of-Trainers (AE TOT) workshop from September 2-4.
During the three-day training, participants explored the U.S. Department of State’s American English teaching and learning materials (AmericanEnglish.state.gov). This extensive library of free, copyright-free, downloaded resources have been developed by U.S. and international English teaching experts over three decades for use in low-tech, non-native English-speaking classrooms around the world. The American English materials, which include lesson plans, literature, audio books, video content, online courses, and printable games and activities, are designed to help teachers transform their English classrooms into interactive, communicative environments that stimulate student-centered, active, and effective learning.
Following the three-day seminar, each AE TOT participant will, in turn, lead workshops in their own school districts that show English teachers how to use the American English resources in their classrooms. In total, 250 English teachers will benefit from this project implemented by the non-profit association Lanja Omena Vokatra hAharitra (LOVA) through a grant from the U.S. Embassy.
Improving the teaching and learning of English in Madagascar is a major initiative of the U.S. Embassy, shaped by the belief that English, as the world’s most widely spoken language, can open a vast range of local and global opportunities for Malagasy students and professionals to pursue their studies and advance their careers. The AE TOT workshop builds upon the U.S. government’s ongoing efforts to strengthen English education in Madagascar, particularly its collaboration with the Ministry of Education to update the lycée English curriculum and our programs to build the capacity of English clubs, as well as the long history of Peace Corps Volunteers teaching English in classrooms around the country, prior to the pandemic.
Press Release by the U.S. Embassy Antananarivo
This is a joint op-ed co-authored by the U.S. Ambassadors and Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. to Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zimbabwe.
The story of the United States of America is the story of its workers, whose enduring contributions we recognize annually on the first Monday of September. Throughout our history, the American worker has labored not only to erect buildings and cities but also to raise the standards of workers worldwide. Through protests and picket lines, by organizing and raising their voices together, workers have won small and large victories that have pushed the United States closer to ensuring safer and healthier workplaces for all.
The Biden-Harris Administration supports labor rights at home and abroad, including the freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining, the abolition of forced labor and child labor, acceptable conditions at work, and freedom from discrimination. The administration’s foreign policy promotes broad-based, equitable growth where all workers can work safely, assemble freely, and earn a fair wage. Labor policy is key to implementing our shared vision of a democratic and prosperous Southern Africa centered on a growing middle class. And workers and trade unions are critical pillars to making this happen.
The Biden-Harris Administration believes that unions across the Southern African region play a significant role in addressing income inequality and creating a more equitable and democratic economy – key ingredients to establishing the cornerstones of middle-class security. When unionized workers are compared with their nonunionized counterparts, studies show that union wages are usually significantly higher. Union participation has also been shown to help address the gender pay gap: Hourly wages for women represented by unions are significantly higher than for nonunionized women.
The United States bolsters workers' rights across the region through technical assistance. In Lesotho, for example, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Better Work project partnered with export apparel factories, trade unions, the government and others to boost factories’ compliance with labor law. For workers, this meant better compensation and improvements in contracts, occupational safety and health and work hours.
Through its worker-centered trade policy, the Biden-Harris Administration seeks to promote equitable growth and shared prosperity to all workers and communities in Africa. It also supports worker rights through U.S. trade preference programs, such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. That is, for countries to remain eligible for the benefits of the AGOA and GSP program, they must meet criteria on internationally recognized worker rights. Through AGOA engagement, the U.S. government has worked with the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to prompt action tackling a variety of labor issues, including the recruitment and use of child soldiers, trafficking in persons, and capacity-building of the labor inspectorate. This contributed towards the DRC’s ultimate reinstatement into the AGOA preference program in 2021, and the U.S. Department of Labor will soon be launching a technical assistance project in the DRC to further support progress on international labor standards.
African laborers form the backbone of the Southern African economy and for far too long African women have worked in environments that failed to protect them from harassment and violence.
They deserve a better economic present and future that is free of violence and harassment. We stand in solidarity with the many trade unions and worker associations in their call for action on this issue, taking into account the provisions of ILO Convention C. 190.
As the United States works with its African partners to stand up for workers, we are especially committed to protecting the most vulnerable workers, including child laborers. Every year the U.S. Department of Labor issues its Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor report, which highlights key child labor challenges in countries around the world, including our partners in Southern Africa. The report also spotlights efforts these countries are undertaking to eliminate child labor through legal protections, enforcement, policies, and social programs and makes recommendation for further action. Namibia, for one, saw significant advancement in the 2019 report, including its enactment of the Child Care and Protection Act.
We also provide technical assistance to support our African partners in their efforts to combat child labor. In Zambia, for example, the U.S. Department of Labor’s EMPOWER program provided entrepreneurship and leadership training to more than 1,400 adolescent girls at risk for child labor, many of whom went on to start their own businesses, generating income and avoiding child labor.
And in Madagascar, the U.S. Department of Labor is providing funding to reduce child labor in mica-producing communities, including support to increase the capacity of government officials to address child labor in the mica supply chain. Additionally, partnerships between USAID Madagascar and U.S. and local businesses in vanilla, cocoa, and aquaculture that are focused on improving livelihoods and conserving biodiversity, have clauses banning child labor and monitoring systems to ensure the ban is enforced throughout the supply chain.
Our commitment to the world’s children stems from our belief that all children should have the opportunity to grow and learn and that economies are stronger when labor rights and human rights are protected. We recognize the important contributions governments, companies, unions, and civil society have made to eliminating all forms of child labor and look forward to strengthening our partnerships across the region to ensure that child labor is eradicated.
The U.S. similarly protects additional vulnerable worker populations through the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) Global Labor Program (GLP). In South Africa, for example, USAID through GLP supports farm workers, domestic workers, and migrant workers to overcome long-standing exclusion from core labor rights and protections, while building the capacity of committed representatives of these populations to become union leaders.
Nowhere is the spirit of partnership between our countries stronger than in our joint efforts to combat COVID-19. Since the pandemic’s outbreak, the United States has worked hand-in-hand with health professionals across the region to prevent, detect, and respond to COVID-19. We’ve contributed approximately $125 million USD in COVID-19 specific funding and have provided almost 11 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to the 12 countries where we serve as representatives of the United States, which has helped to ensure vulnerable workers are protected and can do their jobs safely. This is in addition to our 4 billion USD contribution to Gavi in support of COVAX.
Even in the United States we still have work to do. The dreams and goals of our current labor movement remain unfinished and unrealized by many. As much as we hope to impart, we also have even more to learn and gain from our partners. We understand that while workers across the region may share similar challenges, the African continent’s narrative is multidimensional and diverse.
U.S. engagement in the region is based on a shared hope and belief that the prosperity narrative led by African workers is one we can build together by building a partnership of equals. When African workers can work in greater prosperity, harmony, freedom, and dignity, the United States and the world is better off.
Source: Press Release by U.S. Embassy Antananarivo
AMBOVOMBE – U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Amy J. Hyatt donated nearly 300,000 pre-packed humanitarian meals from the U.S. Department of Defense to the regional office of the Bureau National de Gestion des Risques et Catastrophes (BNGRC) and Catholic Relief Services in an official handover ceremony on August 25.
“This $2.1 million contribution by the U.S. Department of Defense is part of the U.S. government’s unwavering support for the Malagasy people facing food insecurity in the South and the Government of Madagascar’s response to the crisis,” Chargé Hyatt said. These pre-packed humanitarian meals are designed to meet daily nutritional needs, delivering no fewer than 2,200 calories per meal. The amount donated today could feed an estimated 2,100 people, in both Beloha and Tsihombe, for 90 days.
The donation was made possible by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), which supplied the humanitarian daily rations valued at $1.6 million, and U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM), which provided $520,000 of humanitarian assistance funding to ship the rations to Madagascar. Catholic Relief Services will implement the project in coordination with BNGRC, and the Sisters of Charity in Ambovombe will ultimately distribute the meals at their canteens.
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), 1.35 million people in southern Madagascar are projected to be food insecure or worse this lean season. The U.S. government will continue to support Madagascar’s efforts to provide essential human services to vulnerable populations. Since 2015, the U.S. government has been the leading provider of assistance to the south, committing more than $236 million through USAID to respond to the urgent needs of families in hunger and provide long-term solutions to food insecurity.
Following the handover ceremony, Chargé Hyatt visited the drought-affected regions of Androy and Anosy, and interacted with beneficiaries of ongoing U.S. government emergency food security and development assistance programs.
Source: Press Release by U.S. Embassy Antananarivo
ANTANANARIVO – The U.S. government, through the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Rural Access to New Opportunities in Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (RANO WASH) project, has donated equipment and supplies to the Ministry of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene to support Madagascar’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
USAID provided the ministry with 60 disinfectant sprayers, 400 handwashing devices, 34 cartons of soap, and 60 twenty-liter containers. These supplies will be used to improve sanitation and hygiene in six regions of the country - Alaotra Mangoro, Amoron'i Mania, Atsinanana, Haute Matsiatra, Vakinankaratra, and Vatovavy Fitovinany.
This support is part of a series of donations in response to COVID-19 from USAID to the Ministry of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene through the RANO WASH project, and is the latest iteration of the U.S. government’s ongoing collaboration with the Government of Madagascar. The two countries are working together like “mpirahalahy mianala” to ensure the health and protection of the Malagasy people from COVID-19.
To end the global pandemic, the United States is taking bold action, as the largest contributor to COVAX and by committing billions of dollars to more than 120 countries. In Madagascar alone, the United States recently donated 302,750 Johnson and Johnson vaccine doses in addition to our ongoing support for the shipment of COVAX vaccines, donated “head-to-toe” personal protective equipment to front line health care workers in 13 regions of Madagascar hard hit by COVID-19, contributed $5 million to the Tosika Fameno cash transfer program that ensured vulnerable families in the most affected cities had enough to eat, and provided $2.5 million in emergency funding to support the Government of Madagascar’s COVID-19 response.
Speaking on the occasion, Voahary Rakotovelomanantsoa, Minister of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene, stated that the materials would be critical in limiting COVID-19 cases. RANO WASH is USAID’s largest water and sanitation project in Madagascar. Over a five-year period, USAID is investing $30 million to improve access to water for hundreds of thousands of people in 250 rural communes in six regions of Madagascar that face chronic shortages of drinking water. In 2020, USAID’s assistance to Madagascar totaled $133.5 million, including $74.5 million for the health sector, where the United States is the largest single-country donor.
Source: Press Release by U.S. Embassy Antananarivo - USAID Madagascar
ANTANANARIVO – The U.S. government donated 302,750 doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to Madagascar as part of the Administration’s global effort to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The vaccines are part of the U.S. pledge to provide at least 25 million of 80 million doses globally to Africa. The U.S. government coordinated closely with the African Union, Africa CDC, and COVAX on the country allocations. COVAX supported delivery of these vaccine doses, which arrived in Antananarivo on July 27, 2021.
“Sharing these vaccines will not only help protect the Malagasy people from COVID-19, but also begin reducing barriers to building back the Malagasy economy,” Amy Hyatt, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires to the Republic of Madagascar and the Union of the Comoros, said.
These 302,750 doses are part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to share U.S. vaccine supply with the world. As we continue to fight the COVID-19 pandemic at home and work to end the pandemic worldwide, President Biden has promised that the United States will be an arsenal of vaccines for the world.
“From the beginning of my presidency, we have been clear-eyed that we need to attack this virus globally as well. This is about our responsibility — our humanitarian obligation to save as many lives as we can — and our responsibility to our values. We’re going to help lead the world out of this pandemic, working alongside our global partners,” President Biden said.
Throughout the pandemic, the United States has worked closely with the Government of Madagascar to protect public health and strengthen the response to COVID-19. The United States has provided $2.5 million in emergency funding to support the Government of Madagascar’s COVID-19 response, supported the delivery and rollout of vaccines, and contributed $5 million to the Tosika Fameno cash transfer program to ensure vulnerable families in the most affected cities had enough to eat.
Press Release by the U.S. Embassy Antananarivo
The U.S. government funding is feeding 683,000 people in the south and southeast.
ANTANANARIVO – For the past eight years, a series of droughts have devastated southern Madagascar, and this year the situation is especially severe. Many people are struggling day-to-day to find enough food to eat. Farmers are experiencing sandstorms instead of rainstorms and the outlook for the current harvest is not optimistic.
That is why, barely a month after announcing a commitment of $40 million in emergency aid for the south and seven months after launching three new emergency and development programs worth a combined $100 million in the region, the U.S. government is announcing more desperately needed food, health, and agricultural assistance for southern Madagascar.
“Today, we’re announcing another $7.5 million that will go towards feeding people, treating children and pregnant women with malnutrition, and trying to get farmers back on their feet,” John Dunlop, Mission Director for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), said.
“Our projects will deliver food, drinking water, and health care to 46,000 people. We will provide treatment for 13,000 children with malnutrition. And 41,000 farmers will get seeds and other support, along with the hope that the next harvest season will be better,” USAID Mission Director Dunlop added.
The money announced today will fund activities by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in the hard-hit Ampanihy region and Action Contre la Faim (ACF) in Atsimo Andrefana, Androy, and Anosy regions.
“The sad reality of the situation is that the crisis is deepening and continuing to pull in more and more families,” said the U.S. Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Amy J. Hyatt. “That’s why we are acting again to bring more assistance. The United States will continue to stand by the Government and people of Madagascar to respond to this crisis, to try and prevent starvation and famine, to help those who desperately need it.”
Projects funded by the U.S. government are feeding 683,000 people, improving water access for 50,000 people, and preventing and treating malnutrition in 159,000 children and pregnant women. This assistance will continue until the end of September.
From October 2021 to March 2022, USAID food assistance, funded by June’s $40 million announcement and today’s $7.5 million announcement, will be delivered to 489,000 people, and activities to prevent and treat malnutrition will help 357,600 children, pregnant women, and new mothers.
The two new five-year development projects announced in December, designed to introduce long-term solutions that prevent and reduce acute food insecurity among some of the most vulnerable people, have begun operations in the regions of Atsimo Andrefana, Androy, Vatovavy-Fitovinany, and Atsimo Atsinanana.
“Unfortunately, all the money we’ve dedicated to this emergency isn’t enough to feed and care for everyone who needs it. That is why we continue to see reports of people eating leaves or locusts,” USAID Mission Director Dunlop said. “More needs to be done. Some donors have recently announced contributions. This is very welcomed, but even more help is necessary to meet the tremendous need that exists.”
More than 1.1 million people are currently facing high levels of food insecurity and that number is expected to rise. At least 14,000 people are already at the point of famine, the upcoming harvests are projected to be very poor, and access to food will likely worsen heading into 2022.
The U.S. government continues to stand by the Government and people of Madagascar like “mpirahalahy mianala” to respond to this crisis, to try and prevent starvation and famine, and to help those who desperately need it.
Last year, USAID assistance to Madagascar totaled $133.5 million. That amount included $74.5 million in activities for the health sector, where the United States is the largest single-country donor, and $48.5 million for food security. Since 2015, the U.S. government through USAID has been the leading provider of assistance to the south, committing more than $236 million to respond to the urgent needs of families in hunger and provide long-term solutions to food insecurity.
Press release by USAID Madagascar - U.S. Embassy Madagascar
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