26 May 2021
“In Madagascar, we do not only need to address the spread of the South African coronavirus strain and the saturation of hospitals”, explains Karin Chiarandon, Representative for Madagascar, Luxembourg Red Cross. “Now we also face a nutrition crisis in the South of the island, with children suffering from severe malnutrition and no sufficient health structures”. People in the Grand Sud of Madagascar are facing the most acute drought the region has seen since 1981, leading to a severe humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Recent estimates of the World Food Programme show dramatic crop losses this year, after several years of drought and desperately poor harvests.
“More than one million people—nearly two in every five people in the Grand Sud—are severely at risk of food insecurity. We need to support the Malagasy Red Cross in providing food to affected families. We need to act now, before the situation gets out of control”, urges Karin Chiarandon. People wishing to support the Luxembourg Red Cross can donate by bank transfer (IBAN LU52 1111 0000 1111 0000; Reference: Madagascar) or via the below link:
The Luxembourg Red Cross humanitarian teams have been active in Madagascar since 2018 with projects in the fields of resilience and emergency preparedness. In 2020, they supported the Malagasy Red Cross in the fight against the Covid-19 epidemic, setting up handwashing points and training dozens of volunteers on health prevention in SAVA Region. Today, the are closely cooperating with the Malagasy Red Cross to help the populations in need in the country.