Madagascar Grand South Drought Food Crisis 2026
Recent Developments
01July 16, 2026: IPC snapshot projected around 2.12 million people in IPC Phase 3 or above for June–September 2026, including over 183,000 in IPC Phase 4.
02May 2026: FEWS NET said most districts in the Grand South, parts of the Grand Southeast, and cyclone-affected east-coast districts remained in Crisis (IPC Phase 3).
03July 2026: IPC analysis said the Grand South worsened relative to the national picture, with Phase 4 rising from about 25,000 in March–May 2026 to 183,000 in June–September 2026.
04July–August 2026: FEWS NET indicated cassava and sweet potato harvests may temporarily support food access in parts of the Grand South, but stressed that drought and cyclone impacts persist.
Interventions
- Nutrition and health interventions continuing in affected areas, which IPC reports say are helping moderate the short-term outlook.
- Seasonal food availability support from the cassava and sweet potato harvests in the Grand South and rice harvests elsewhere, which FEWS NET says should temporarily improve access through September.
What Works
- Targeted nutrition and health support can reduce acute malnutrition during periods of crisis, especially when paired with monitoring and early treatment.
- Livelihood-protecting assistance such as food or cash support is effective when households are selling productive assets or borrowing food to cope with shortages.
- Early recovery support after cyclone and drought shocks helps prevent repeated crisis deterioration in vulnerable districts.
How to Help
- Donate to reputable humanitarian organizations working in Madagascar’s south.
- Support local and international NGOs providing food, nutrition, and livelihood assistance.
- Advocate for increased humanitarian funding and drought resilience support for Madagascar.
Make an Impact
Donate directly to 4 verified organizations working on this crisis. Every contribution makes a difference.
Donate to Organizations ↓Coming soon: one-click donations distributed across all organizations via our impact protocol.
Raise Awareness
Can't donate? You can still make a huge impact. Join others in amplifying this cause globally by sharing it with your network.
Verified Organizations
Organizations Helping(14)
OCHA contributes to the Madagascar crisis response by coordinating humanitarian actors, producing Grand Sud key messages, and organizing joint response planning and appeals. Its role is to align UN agencies, NGOs, and donors around priority needs such as food assistance, water access, and livelihoods support in the drought-affected south.
UNICEF addresses drought-driven school disruption by improving water, sanitation, and hygiene in schools, finalizing school WASH standards and guidelines, and helping design and install climate-resilient water supply systems so schools can keep operating safely during drought conditions.
WFP’s strategy combines immediate life-saving assistance with measures that reduce future vulnerability. In emergencies, it uses a mix of direct food aid, cash, and vouchers so assistance can be adapted to local market conditions and delivered quickly when conflict, displacement, or disaster disrupts access to food.[3][5][10] A distinctive part of WFP’s approach is that it links humanitarian response with resilience-building. It does this by pairing food assistance with community asset creation, nutrition programming, school meals, and support for social safety nets, so the same intervention can meet urgent hunger needs while strengthening local systems, infrastructure, and livelihoods over time.[3][7][10] WFP also emphasizes scale and partnership with governments. Its programmes are implemented across many countries and are designed to complement public systems, including school feeding and social protection, while using tools such as cash, market access support, and food-security data to make assistance more efficient and context-specific.[5][7]
WHO, working through PAHO in Haiti, supports cholera control by training surveillance officers and data managers, strengthening cholera treatment centers, improving infection prevention and case management, and supporting community awareness activities. These efforts target early detection, rapid treatment, and prevention in displacement sites and surrounding communities.
