Communities struggle with food crisis in the south

As Noelene Sana struggled to breast-feed her newborn baby, she was preparing a "meal" of nothing more than cactus leaves and salted water for the rest of her six children. "This one is lucky," she said, pointing to the infant. "At least he has milk to drink. For the others, there isn't anything else. What can I do?" Although used to dealing with the harsh environment in which they live, worsening drought conditions in southern Madagascar have left hundreds of thousands of villagers reeling. "In the past we have always managed to to get something into our stomachs. When the maize ran out we could turn to the cactus fruit or cassava, but this year even that has dried up because there has been no rain. People around here aren't expecting anything from this year's harvest. This is definately the worst since 1992," village leader Zarandro told IRIN. (In some parts of country, people have only one name.) The World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that some 600,000 people in 12 districts between Toliara in the southwest and Tolagnaro in the southeast of the country are in need of emergency assistance. Local health workers have reported that severe malnutrition among young children has doubled in the last few months. Augustine Manampototysy, a nurse at a local clinic, told IRIN: "Since the start of the drought a few months ago we have seen the health of the people in the area deteriorate to such an extent that we had to open a therapeutic feeding centre to assist the children. Just in the month of April seven children died in the area from malnutrition." Although WFP has assisted communities in several districts through a food-for-work programme, the last supplies were in December 2002. Since then people have struggled to feed themselves. Despite a worsening situation, calls for additional aid appear to have gone unheeded, with WFP's US $8.1 million appeal in November only half-funded. "It is perhaps difficult for donors to understand that some parts of the country are considered traditionally food insecure because of the lack of rain, especially when there have been reports of heavy flooding and cyclones [in eastern Madagascar]. This is a big island with varying weather conditions," WFP regional project officer Moumini Ouedraogo told IRIN. The irony has not been lost on the people of Bedaro village. However, they say increasing poverty and lack of access to land have made the current food shortages all the more difficult to cope with. In some cases familes have resorted to selling their jewellery and cooking utensils to raise money to buy food which, when available in local markets, is expensive. "We don't have much. But we would rather sell even the clothes we are wearing so that our children can eat," one villager explained. "We have dealt with famine before and we have our ways of surving. WFP has helped us in the past and we are thankful. But we need jobs. Jobs and more land is what is needed to get us through these difficult times. There are no jobs left in this area and the land is owned by people who don't even live here. The young people sit all day doing nothing," Zarandro said.