The dramatic drought in the south of Madagascar
Humanitarian organizations describe an unprecedented drought in the south of Madagascar.
The region experiences episodes of acute rainfall shortage repeatedly.
Forgotten humanitarian crises in the world… Madagascar on the front line
This situation has a name: kéré, “famine” in Malagasy. From Tuléar to Fort-Dauphin, some areas have not received rain since January 2020. People are cooking roots, relying on mangoes or cacti to feed themselves. 1.5 million people urgently need help, but the world looks away because it is preoccupied with Covid.
There have been about 260 deaths from Covid in 10 months, how many from starvation or dehydration?
Almost 20,000 children under five are at risk of severe malnutrition requiring medical assistance. Additionally, the Covid outbreak has closed schools, depriving schoolchildren of daily meals.
The drought is causing a dramatic famine in the south of Madagascar, as I have reported in the following blog entries:
https://www.urlaub-auf-madagaskar.com/die-ueberlebensmigrationen-im-sueden-von-madagaskar/
and also
https://www.urlaub-auf-madagaskar.com/nahrungsmangel/
Despite low mortality from Covid, incredible sums have flowed from the WHO and France to Antananarivo, but the south is as forgotten as ever.
Internal migrations out of necessity
Starving migrants from the deep south are now arriving daily in the capital, Antananarivo.
Unemployment, lack of opportunities for livelihood, and environmental changes are among the main drivers of migration in Madagascar, leading to complex migration trends both within the country and beyond the island’s borders.
The Malagasy territory is characterized by strong spatial inequalities, contrasting overpopulated areas with empty spaces. Migration could therefore be considered a means to reduce demographic pressure and agricultural underemployment in certain regions, while also serving as a means to manage areas currently untouched due to a lack of farmers.
Migration could then be one of the building blocks for escaping the demographic-economic impasse.
Improved utilization of rural and agricultural space could also contribute to achieving development goals by increasing agricultural production, reducing underemployment, and thus alleviating poverty among rural populations.
However, this is about survival and abandoning a traditional way of life where ancestors have always lived, where their own traditions, taboos, and tribes have marked the lives of the inhabitants.
These people have no access to information or even an idea of what lies beyond their meager living area.
There are simply no alternatives between starving & thirsting or the distant uncertainty.
Global movements from south to north – a little-known migration
A growing phenomenon. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in internal migration flows from the south of the country to urban centers and rural areas in the west and northwest.
While internal migration in Madagascar is not a new phenomenon, the dynamics underlying this migration have changed significantly and worsened. It has impacts that were not observed before, disrupting local, regional, and national social, political, and economic dynamics.
Climate issues favor long-distance migration.
The victims of Kere (drought and famine in the south of Madagascar) in the southern regions of the island have migrated to the Menabe or Atsimo-Andrefana regions over the past 100 years.
To settle, these migrants choose deforestation or logging. But the worst part is that some of them are currently being exploited in the west to grow corn and peanuts for import or food processing,” warns the deputy research director at the National Center for Environmental Research (CNRE). On the other hand, uncontrolled migration in Androy and Menabe increases tensions and social conflicts, posing a threat to peace and social cohesion.
Lack of statistics
Madagascar lacks sufficient data on internal migration. One of the reasons for establishing an observatory for internal migration, which is the result of a partnership between the International Organization for Migration (IOM), UNDP, and CNRE. Its establishment will allow for enhanced surveys to assess the current situation and determine the results.
Indeed, the observatory is intended to be a primary structure in the country serving as a reference platform to examine, produce, and refine knowledge about a range of social, political, economic, and ecological parameters and issues related to internal migration phenomena in Madagascar over time.
