At least half a million children under the age of five are expected to be acutely malnourished including 110,000 in severe condition, suffering irreversible damage to their growth and development.
WFP & UNICEF Joint Press Release July 26, 2021
“What is currently happening in southern Madagascar is heartbreaking. We cannot turn our backs on these children whose lives are at stake. We need to double our efforts to curb this catastrophic rise in hunger but we cannot do it without significant funding resources and buy-in from partners”
Moumini Ouedraogo, WFP’s Representative in Madagascar
On June 23, Earth’s highest authority on hunger, World Food Program Executive Director David Beasley, warned over a million people in Southern Madagascar were on the brink of famine as a direct result of climate change, and charged GHG polluters with “a moral obligation to help these innocent victims of climate change now.” Beasley cites the need not only for immediate relief but for “resilience programs and water harvesting” to bring real and lasting relief to over a million people pushed “to the very edge of starvation.”
On July 26, UNICEF released a detailed assessment of conditions in Madagascar, warning we’re on track for half a million children younger than 5 to be acutely malnourished, including 110,000 in severe condition, “suffering irreversible damage to the growth and development.”
On August 16, I discussed that horrifying trajectory with Tim Irwin of UNICEF in Southern Madagascar.
Tim confirmed that over a month after WFP Director Beasley’s historic call to action, resources are insufficient for this climate and humanitarian catastrophe. Even UNICEF’s emergency nutrition assistance, targeted to the most severely malnourished children, is only 83% funded. Overall, of the funds UNICEF has requested this year for its operations in Madagascar, just 33% has been received.
