This is an envelope of 20 million dollars intended to strengthen the fight once morest food insecurity which, according to statements made yesterday, are exacerbated by the consequences of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. “This funding comes as part of the U.S. government’s global response to the impact of Russia’s unlawful invasion of its sovereign neighbor Ukraine,” U.S. Ambassador Claire A. Pierangelo said in her statement. speech at Andranomena, yesterday.
According to yesterday’s speeches, this additional amount reinforces the development aid agreement of a total of 491 million dollars, over five years, recorded with the Malagasy government. The additional envelope announced yesterday will be used to finance the humanitarian assistance, food insecurity and community resilience programs of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Additional help
The World Food Program (WFP) is also one of the recipients of part of this additional aid. At first sight, the 20 million dollars announced, in Andranomena, tend to be a primer for the implementation of the “Feed the future” program, and of USAID’s global resilience initiative. Two actions in the context of food security initiated and funded by the US government in which Madagascar is one of the target countries.
“These new funds will support existing activities and they will also help launch new ones, to reduce malnutrition, improve prosperity and support the resilience of citizens, improve prosperity and support the resilience of the most vulnerable citizens of Madagascar. This will be done through integrated programs of health, nutrition, agriculture, livelihoods and mitigation, as well as disaster preparedness,” adds Ambassador Pierangelo.
The American diplomat concedes, however, that “much remains to be done” in the fight once morest food insecurity. According to Marc Regnault de la Mothe, head of the WFP, present during yesterday’s press conference, the number of Malagasy people who will find themselves in a situation of food insecurity during the next lean season, until April 2023, is estimated at two million people.
