Alkis Konstantidinis, Christophe Van Der Perre

ANJEKY BEANATARA (Madagascar) – There are very few trees in the area that can slow down the winds. Red sand blows everywhere, onto roads and fields and into children who wait for aid packages.

The area has been transformed into a deserted landscape by four years of severe drought.

“There is no harvest. Tarira, a mother of seven, said that this is why they don’t have anything to eat, and are starving. She was standing near Anjeky Beanatara at a World Food Programme (WFP), remote post where children can be checked for malnutrition, and then given food.

More than 1 million people live in south Madagascar and need help from WFP.

Tarira brought Avoraza (four years old) to pick sachets from Plumpy, a product made of peanuts that treats malnourished kids.

“There were seven people, therefore there was not enough food. Holding Avoraza in her thin arms, she stated that The Plumpy was not enough for him.

(Open https://reut.rs/3KQ90Tj to see a picture package)

Tarira shared that Tarira’s family was sometimes forced to eat raketa (a type of cactus) which can be found wild, but has little nutritional value, and causes stomach pains.

Madagascar is the fourth-largest island in the world and has one of its most varied ecosystems. With thousands of endangered species and animal species, it projects an image of lush, natural paradise. The reality is different in some parts, especially the far south.

Soja Lahimaro, the governor of southern Androy, stated that Madagascar used to be called the “green island”, but now the island is known as the “red island”.

PRAYING FOR RAIN

According to aid organizations and local authorities, the food crisis that has hit southern areas over many years is interconnected. It includes droughts, pollution, climate change, and poverty.

Madagascar, home to 30 million people, has been a victim of extreme weather. But scientists predict that these events will increase as humans-induced climate change raises the temperature.

A UN IPCC climate-change panel has stated that increased aridity in Madagascar is already evident and predicts more droughts. WFP warned Madagascar that it was in danger of experiencing “the worst climate change famine since the beginning of the South African food crisis”.

World Weather Attribution, an international research group said that models showed a slight shift towards more droughts in south Madagascar due to climate change. However, they said that natural variability was responsible for the first one-in-135 year dry event since 1992.

Theodore Mbainaissem runs WFP operations for the most affected areas of southern Madagascar. In his opinion, once-regular weather patterns were no more. Elders from the villages couldn’t figure out when it was best to plant and harvest.

Mbainaissem claimed that, after many months of interventions by WFP, local authorities and other aid organisations, the worst food crisis was now over. According to Mbainaissem, severe malnutrition in children has dropped from around 30% just a few short months ago to less than 5% today.

Children run all over the village. He said that this was not the norm before.

Aid groups and communities are trying to overcome the emergencies phase to focus on future-oriented projects like a major effort by Faux Cap, a coastal community to stabilize the sand dunes with planting.

Some of the same trends are present in rural areas, where many people still live in poverty.

Felix Fitiavantsoa (a newly married man) was attempting to clear a woodland area for his new hobby. However, the longer-term implications of this deforestation are not as important.

He was desperate to produce food for his wife and was worried about whether or not it would rain enough to get him started.

“If it doesn’t rain, I don’t know what else we’ll do.” He said, “We’ll pray for God.”