Mongabay discusses In Madagascar’s hungry south, drought pushes more than 1 million to brink of famine.
- In Madagascar’s deep south, 1.35 million people, including 100,000 children, could fall victim to malnutrition this year, as the worst drought in a decade grips the region.
- This remote region has witnessed 16 famines since 1896, eight of which occurred in the past four decades. Most were the direct result of rainfall deficits, but misguided or failed policies have deepened the distress.
- This year, with crop failures, pandemic-related restrictions curbing access to markets, and sharp increases in prices of essentials, food has remained out of reach for thousands.
- Such droughts and the attendant famines are likely to become more frequent due to climate change, producing more hunger and distress in one of the poorest countries in the world.
Elsewhere, there are reports of villagers eating clay to survive. Children with too little to eat and too-big bellies dying. According to one estimate, in the deep south, 1.35 million people, including 100,000 children under 5, could fall victim to malnutrition in the coming months.