More than 1 million need urgent food aid in south Madagascar

By LAETITIA BEZAIN
Associated Press

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AP) — International agencies warn that more than 1.1 million people in southern Madagascar urgently need food aid. The World Food Program says that about 700,000 people are already receiving food aid and increased emergency assistance is needed. WFP is working with the Malagasy government and other humanitarian agencies. According to Amnesty International, more than 90% of the population in Madagascar’s “Deep South” region lives below the poverty line, making families extremely vulnerable. Four consecutive years of drought have wiped out crops and exhausted the food reserves of the farming communities in southern Madagascar.