UNITED NATIONS HELPS MALNOURISHED IN MADAGASCAR

UNITED NATIONS HELPS MALNOURISHED IN MADAGASCAR

NEW YORK, 18 November (OCHA) -- Heightened rates of malnutrition among children have prompted the initiation of emergency nutritional and medical assistance activities in Madagascar’s South-Eastern Region (Atsimo Atsinanana).

A recent nutritional assessment, carried out in response to the sharp deterioration of the food security situation in this region, shows that, among the 1,800 children examined in six of the 12 affected communes, global acute malnutrition rates are averaging 50 per cent, while severe acute malnutrition rates average 13 per cent.  Regionally, this means that up to 14,000 children may be acutely malnourished and 3,700 suffering severe malnutrition.  The assessment was carried out by inter-agency teams comprised of Government, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP), and non-governmental organization representatives.

In response to the situation, the Government is initiating food, non-food and medical interventions, with support from UNICEF, the WFP, and the non-governmental organizations German Agro-Action, Catholic Relief Services and Caritas.  The WFP intends to provide some 300 metric tonnes of food for targeted food distributions to 7,800 families with children at serious risk.  Approximately 200 metric tonnes of this assistance will be distributed as take-home rations for primary school students.  The WFP will also increase its food-for-work activities.

The UNICEF will work with the Government to establish five therapeutic and supplementary feeding centres, and will complement the WFP’s efforts through the provision of sugar and oil.

The joint response is to be coordinated by the Government, through the Conseil national de secours.  In-country resources will be used to address the needs of those affected, although, due to the scarcity of resources, the Government is considering the issuance of a formal request for international assistance.  The United Nations’ response is being coordinated by the Resident Coordinator, with support from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Southern Madagascar is plagued by chronic food insecurity.  In 2005, repeated coastal floods and insect infestation and drought have affected the region’s rice and sweet potato crops.  Additionally, the lack of a clove harvest due to the crop’s biannual cycle of production has likely exacerbated the already precarious situation by reducing cash incomes.

For further information, please call:  Stephanie Bunker, OCHA- New York, tel: +1 917 367 5126, mobile: +1 917 892 1679; Kristen Knutson, OCHA- New York, tel: +1 917 367 9262; Elizabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, tel: +41 22 917 2653, mobile: +41 79 473 4570.

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For information media • not an official record