Madagascar – Drought - Situation Report No. 7 | 1 Madagascar: Grand Sud Drought Office of the Resident Coordinator Situation Report No. 7 (as of 15 May – 15 July 2017) This report is produced by the Office of the Resident Coordinator in Madagascar in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It covers the period from 15 May to 15 July 2017. This is the final situation report for this crisis. Highlights • The rainfall season was favorable for agriculture between December 2016 and June 2017 over most parts of the Grand Sud . • Due to the combination of better rainfall and comprehensive response activities, the humanitarian improved significantly compared to 2016. • A recent IPC Food Security assessment found that for the period from June to September 2017, an estimated 409,000 people will be in IPC phases 3 and 4 in all of the districts (against 850,000 people on phases 3 and 4 in 2016), representing 25% of area’s total population, no district will be classified in IPC phase 4. • Recent SMART surveys found severe acute malnutrition under the “emergency” threshold of 3 per cent in 8 districts, 3 districts above the global acute nutrition (GAM) “alert” threshold of 10 per cent and 5 districts below the GAM alert threshold. • Preliminary results from the Integrated Acute Malnutrition Source: OCHA Phase Classification exercise conducted in July 2017 has The boundaries and names shown and the designations used classified five districts in phase 2 (Alert) and the other three on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. districts in phase-3 (Serious). • More than 73 per cent of the population in the eight affected districts continue to use unimproved water points. • A joint monitoring and evaluation mission was conducted in July to follow up ongoing early recovery activities in response of the El Niño based on the Recovery and Resilience Plan for the Grand sud. 409,122 27% 38,000 230,356 771,000 Of those in the cases of People in need 3,455 65% Children from People received most-affected moderate acute of humanitarian children with Of the of $155 1,060 primary food assistance districts received malnutrition assistance, severe acute million required schools received in May access to treated in June according to malnutrition secured daily hot meals sustainable June IPC in May potable water Situation Overview Over the course of four consecutive years, the Grand Sud recorded an acute low rainfall. This situation further worsened with the 2016 El Niño phenomenon, leading to 20 per cent of the population in emergency phase and 32 per cent in crisis phase. A total number of 845,000 people were in need of humanitarian assistance in 2016. From November 2016 to June 2017, the Grand Sud benefited from close to normal rainfall. The period between May and June 2017 is the harvest season in the Grand Sud , a critical time to assess the humanitarian situation and conduct any forecast analysis based on the availability of foods at household level. United Nations Office of the Resident Coordinator Madagascar Drought - Situation Report No. 7 | 2 According to the results of an IPC Acute Food Insecurity Analysis conducted in June 2017, with the support of the IPC Global Support Unit, the IPC Southern Africa Regional Support Unit and FEWSNET Southern Africa, between March 2017 and May 2017 (peak of the hunger-gap season), the number of people in IPC 3 and 4 phases decreased significantly, from 845,000 to 583,000 from October 2016 to April/June 2017. The districts of Betioky, Ampanihy, Beloha, Tsihombe, Amboasary, and the four communes of Taolagnaro in the Grand Sud are in IPC phase 3 (crisis). Other districts, including Bekily, Ambovombe, are in IPC Phase 2 (stressed). As per IPC projections, for the period from June to September 2017, the situation in Ampanihy should improve to IPC phase 2 and an estimated 409,000 people will be in IPC phases 3 and 4 in all of the districts, representing 25% of area’s total population of this area. No district will be classified in IPC phase 4. SMART nutrition surveys conducted in eight drought-affected districts in March-April 2017 indicated conditions below the “alert” threshold of 10 per cent GAM rates in five districts (Ambovombe 9.8 per cent, Ampanihy 8.5 per cent, Betioky 8.4 per cent, Toalagnaro 8.1 per cent and Tsihombe 9.6 per cent); and between the “alert” and the “emergency” threshold of 15 per cent GAM rate in three districts (Amboasary 13.7 per cent, Bekily 10.8 per cent and Beloha 13.9 per cent). Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) levels are all under the “emergency” threshold of 3 per cent, ranging from 0.4 per cent in Betioky to 2.7 per cent in Beloha. Despite these improvements, the most vulnerable populations’ health remain at risk, mainly those living in hard-to- reach areas (>10 kms away from health centers). Mobile teams continue to be deployed in order to ensure early detection of outbreaks, prevent further deterioration and avoid excess mortality among children and pregnant and lactating women in these isolated areas. Whereas the percentage of population having access to less than 10 liters/person/day slightly decreased during the first semester of 2017, mainly in Ambovombe, rains have since May scaled down in the greatest part of the Grand Sud, following the start of the dry season. While hydrogeological studies to identify sustainable water sources are ongoing, more than 73% of the population in the eight affected districts in the Grand Sud continue to use an unimproved water point. Most of the South’s population continue to use stagnant water, mainly Amboasary (67.8%), Beloha (28%), Bekily (61.7%) and Ampanihy (34.5 %). Almost 20% of the population are obliged to buy expensive water ($US 0.3 for 20 liters) due to limited water availability in some localized areas, mainly in Taolagnaro and Tsihombe . During the last Trimester of school year 2017, the rate of school absenteeism declined to an average of 11 per cent for the 9 districts (3 regions), similar to national rates. Absenteeism in Anosy Region, however, remains considerably higher at 19 per cent. Children are often pulled out of school to work in the fields or financially support their families as a negative coping strategy for households still struggling for their livelihoods. The region of Atsimo Andrefana has seen the biggest improvements, with absenteeism down to 5 per cent: a 9 per cent reduction from February. The average rate of teacher absenteeism for the three regions has also declined since the start of the year, but remains stable since March at 37 per cent. In Androy, the situation is worsening since January 2017, increasing from 43 per cent to reach 57 per cent during March, April and May, which is exceptionally high related to the average absenteeism rate of around 30 per cent in the sample of non-drought-affected regions. While teacher absenteeism has strongly increased in Anosy during the same period from 29% in March to 44% in May 2017, it has declined in Atsimo Andrefana from 26 per cent to 14 per cent during the same period. The next seasonal forecast beyond September 2017 will give better information about the likelihood of a future El Niño hitting the Grand Sud . Funding The revised humanitarian response needs stand at $154.9 million, of which 65 per cent has been secured, leaving a funding gap of $53.7 million. $53.7m Still required for the 2 remaining months of humanitarian response United Nations Office of the Resident Coordinator Madagascar Drought - Situation Report No. 7 | 3 The main donors are USAID, CERF (OCHA), ECHO, SIDA, DFID, AfDB, World Bank, Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Japan, Norway, South Korea and Switzerland. The latest funding received were from ECHO ($4.42 million), CERF ($6 million), Japan ($6.2 million), USAID ($2.7 million), and German ($ 3 million). Therefore, no more funding is expected for the two remaining months covered by the emergency response plan. The 12-month national emergency social protection program, Fiavota, funded by the World Bank ($12.6 milliom) and UNICEF ($1 million), has contributed to the humanitarian response in the five targeted districts since December 2016. Humanitarian Response Food Security and livelihoods Needs analysis: In line with the Emergency response plan, relief assistance was maintained until the end 771,000 of May 2017 for two main reasons: i) expected delays in the harvest season due to late people received food rains and ii) absence of sufficient evidence on the situation to declare the end of the assistance from April to May emergency. However, several food security assessments were undertaken during the 2017 reporting period including an IPC in the Grand Sud . Short term recommendations of the June 2017- IPC Acute Food Insecurity Analysis: • Prioritize immediate rehabilitation activities in pockets of food insecurity in order to reduce the intensity of the next lean season, which is expected early. • Continue humanitarian assistance for populations classified in IPC 3 at least until September 2017. • Strengthen the updating of the humanitarian response matrix to ensure complementarity and coordination of actions. • Promote recovery and strengthen livelihoods activities and assets (agricultural recovery activities with seed protection measures) to take advantage of the off-season crop while enhancing improved short-cycle varieties adapted to the conditions Agro-ecological activities, strengthening income-generating activities, promotion of post-harvest activities. • Improve the coordination of humanitarian