As a result of the combined effects of the El Niño phenomenon and prolonged drought in southern Madagascar, this part of the island faces severe food insecurity and economic vulnerability hampering its capacity to cope with shocks. According to the recent update of FEWS NET1 (April 2018), Madagascar is considered as in crisis for the period running from October 2017 to June 2018 because of poor rainfall forecasts, resulting in below-average harvests and limited food access. The latest monitoring report of the food security cluster2 (April 2018) shows that 820,299 people are in need of food assistance, including 586,076 people considered as in “crisis” and 234,223 who have reached the “emergency level” as regards exposure to food insecurity in southern Madagascar. Irregular, uneven and insufficient rain during the farming season (December 2017 to March 2018) raised concerns about the population's ability to store food and survive until next harvest. Despite food distributions (mainly school meals provided by WFP) and food production interventions (conducted by FAO and other agencies), drought has put extreme pressure on local communities and has led to an increase in the number of people suffering from food insecurity.
The disruption of work and income opportunities and livelihoods has also caused serious gaps in income generation, loss of productive assets and adoption of harmful coping mechanisms. The recent WFP/FAO Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM, December 2017) showed that loss of productive assets, such as the sale of production means, equipment and tools, has prevented people from producing food and generating income. In the absence of targeted assistance due lack of funding, people with moderate malnutrition may face severe malnutrition during the dry season. Vulnerable groups need immediate assistance in addition to an intervention aiming at increasing their resilience to shocks over the long term.

CARE is proposing, through the OFDA South project, a specific humanitarian intervention in the Ambovombe district for a period of 12 months in 6 communes in the Ambovombe district, including: Imanombo, Ambanisarika, Tsimananada, Marovato-Befeno, Ampamata, and Jafaro to save lives among the most vulnerable groups, prevent an aggravation of food insecurity and promote resilience building measures in parallel to the humanitarian response. The overall outcome of the project is to alleviate the drought-affected populations’ suffering in southern Madagascar through food production restoration, improved livelihoods and improved access to water.