MADAGASCAR Facts and Figures

November 2015

Food insecure people : 1.9 million (CFSAM 2015)

Chronic malnutrition rate: 47.3 percent (MGDs

national follow up survey 2013), 4th highest rate in
the world

Number of out-of-school children: 1.6 million

Estimated population: 22 million

People living below US$2 per day: 92 percent

(World Bank 2013)

People living on less than US$ 2 per day: 92

percent (World Bank 2013)

Country Overview
Madagascar is a low-income, food deficit country ranking 155 out of
187 countries in the 2014 Human Development Report. Ninetytwo
percent of its estimated 22 million population lives on less than US$
2 a day. The country is one of the few in the world to have
experienced, over the past decades, a stagnation in per capita
income coupled with a rise in absolute poverty.
Madagascar was classified as an aid orphan by the OECD, with
US$ 17.5 of net official development assistance per capita,
compared with an average of US$ 47.5 for Africa in 2012.

institutional capacity, economic growth and development efforts ;

and weakened the governments capacity to deliver social services.
Public expenditures on education and health have significantly
decreased. The number of school children who are out of school is
estimated at 1.6 million.
Madagascar has only reached one of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDG6 combatting HIV-AIDS).

The World Food Programme (WFP) is fostering partnership with the

government and governmental institutions. Besides, WFP is
strengthening the governments capacity, inlcuding by providing
Madagascar is one of the 10 countries in the world which are the technical assistance and equipment.
most vulnerable to natural disasters such as cyclones, floods and
droughts. A quarter of the population, some five million people, live WFP works in close collaboration with the following Ministries:
in areas highly vulnerable to frequent natural disasters. Climate National Education, Public Health, Foreign Affairs, Social Protection
change and environmental degradation exacerbate these risks and and Women, Agriculture and Rural Development and Environment,
Ecology and Forests.
further increase households vulnerability.
Besides, the increasing fragility of the ecosystem due to
deforestation and poor land management intensifies vulnerability to
shocks and related food insecurity. Deforestation has become a
major concern: 85 percent of rain forest have been lost due to the
use of wood and coalwhich represent 95 percent of households
main sources of energy, slash and burn agricultural practices and
illegal exploitation of natural resources.
The 2015 Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM)
carried out in the 21 districts most affected by natural disasters
indicates that 1.9 million people are food insecure in the 8 regions
surveyed (see map). The highest levels of food insecurity are found
in the Androy, Anosy and Atsimo Andrefana regions in the south of
the country, as a result of a dry spell and extended losses in the
crop production for 2015. In the six most affected districts (Bekily,
Beloha, Tsihombe, Ambvombe, Ampanihy and Amboasary), 76.8
percent of the population is food insecure representing 971,000
people, of which 380,500 are severely food insecure people.
Madagascar is the fourth country in the world having the highest
rate of chronic malnutrition, with almost half of children under five
affected (47.3 percent).
Madagascar has experienced the longest political crisis of its history
(2009 - 2013) which has negatively affected government

WFP OPERATIONS AT A GLANCE

In Madagascar, WFP addresses food security and malnutrition challenges through a Country Programme (development) and a Protracted
Relief and Recovery Operation (response to natural disasters). These focus on reducing chronic and seasonal food insecurity, supporting
primary education and nutrition and enhancing vulnerable communities resilience to shocks through innovative and sustainable projects.
COUNTRY PROGRAMME (2015-2019)
The Country Programme is implemented in the three most foodinsecure regions in the south of Madagascar and in vulnerable
urban areas of Antananarivo, Tamatave and Tulear.
The current Country Programme has three components:
Support to the national school feeding programme. WFP
support the government in implementing a school feeding
programme in southern regions and priority vulnerable urban
areas. Pilot projects will also be carried out to supply school with
local production from smallholder farmers and use cash transfers
in urban zones, to ensure the programmes sustainability.
Improve nutritional outcomes for vulnerable groups. As
Madagascar is part of the Scaling up nutrition Movement WFP
continues implementing activities to prevent and treat moderate
acute malnutrition, prevent chronic malnutrition and provide
nutrition support to people living with tuberculosis and/or HIV.
Improve access to markets for smallholder farmers. WFP
supports smallholder farmers by buying their surplus at a
competitive price and providing them capacity building in quality
control, storage and handling. Local purchase contributes to
increase farmers incomes and boost local economy.
The Country Programme focuses on technical assistance and
capacity building for government institutions and partners, to
strengthen the sustainability of the projects.

Top donors to WFP Madagascar : Canada, France, Global Partnership for Education (through the WB), EU, Norway, Switzerland,
Japan, Monaco, Andorra, United Kingdom, H.G Buffett Foundation

2015 project values: US$ 25 million

2015 Beneficiaries: 680,000
Last updated in November 2015

PROTRACTED RELIEF AND RECOVERY OPERATION

(2015-2017)
This Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation aims to provide
relief assistance and increase households' resilience and strengthen
national and communities capacity to manage risks.
Respond to emergencies
A preparedness and response mechanism is in place by means of
pre-positioning food commodities ahead of cyclone season, which
enables immediate relief assistance. A small scale emergency
moderate acute malnutrition treatment contingency plan is also
integrated.
Strengthen resilience
WFP implements the Three pronged approach . It consists in
identifying strategic priorities and geographic targeting at the
national level; strengthening operationnal coordination, joint
programming and partnerships at the regional level; and define
multisectorial and priority activities identified by communities
themselves.
WFP and its partners implement programs aiming at building
resilience through asset creation, livelihood diversification and
safety net activities. Use of food/cash transfers optimized
according to multi-sectorial seasonal calendars, market and
technical capacity.
WFP will support the government in the reestablishment of a food
security early warning system and strengthen evaluation and
analysis capacities in disaster and risks management at national
and decentralized level through community-based early warning
systems and preparedness plans. WFP will use its technical
expertise to support the setting up of a Vulnerability Assessment
Committee (VAC) in Madagascar, and develop national capacities
to conduct emergency assessments in food security and nutrition.
CONTACT DETAILS
Country Director: Willem van Milink
Tel: +261 20 22 315 72
Fax: +261 20 22 322 99
www.wfp.org/madagascar