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European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations
  • 12 February 2024

Delivering life-saving nutrition and protection in Madagascar

In south-east Madagascar, a concerning situation is unfolding as malnutrition rates rise in rural communities.

Years of neglect and multiple nature-induced disasters means local communities are now left particularly vulnerable, and the districts of Nosy Varika and Ikongo are reaching critical emergency thresholds with a Global Acute Malnutrition proxy rate of 18.1% and 15.9% respectively.

The EU is working to alleviate the suffering of millions of children and adults across the island through the funding of humanitarian partners on the ground. Our colleague Karolina Andrzejewska, Team Leader for Southern Africa and Indian Ocean, was recently in Madagascar’s Great Southeast region:

An aid worker holding a child on her lap while reading a book.
3-year-old Olcina is undergoing treatment for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) at the CRENI centre run by our humanitarian partner Action Contre la Faim (ACF).
© European Union, 2023 (photographer: Karolina Andrzejewska)
View of a walkway, 2 people standing on either side looking at a child who is with an aid worker holding a doll.
CRENI (Centre de Récupération et d'Education Nutritionnelle Intensif) offers in-patient care for SAM cases with medical complications. Since April 2023, ACF has received 11 children under 6 months and 79 over 6 months and recorded 5 deaths and 2 dropouts.
© European Union, 2023 (photographer: Karolina Andrzejewska)
Brigitte holding one of her children while seated in a swing chair on a porch.
Brigitte is the mum of nine children – her eldest daughter, aged 17, has children of her own, while her youngest, only a year old, has been undergoing SAM treatment at the Mandrosovelo mobile clinic.
© European Union, 2023 (photographer: Karolina Andrzejewska)
A yellow notebook containing a page with a list. On top if it rolled up papers.
The Mandrosovelo mobile clinic provides outpatient care for malnutrition. It opened in October 2023 with an initial patient list of 29 children.
© European Union, 2023 (photographer: Karolina Andrzejewska)
  • Photo of Yolanda Valassopoulou

    Story by Yolanda Valassopoulou, EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations.

    Photos: © European Union, 2023 (photographer: Karolina Andrzejewska)

    Publication date: 12/02/2024