Africa Madagascar 21.000 tons of rice arrived in Toamasina in a ship received by President Rajoelina, who announced that over 60.000 tons are expected in the 1st quarter of 2022; the decision is not unanimously welcomed by local rice producers who fear damage to the sector
Africa Madagascar Heavy floods triggered by torrential rains hit Antananarivo, leaving hundreds of displaced and at least 10 dead according to the national disaster risk management office
Africa Madagascar In the country hardest hit by climate change in the world, according to the warning issued by the UN and the WFP at the beginning of summer 2021, the NGO Aid4Mada has been at the forefront of efforts to combat water shortages since 2015
Africa Madagascar Jirama, the national water and electricity company, is facing increasing difficulties at the Andekaleka hydropower plant after two more transformers broke down, making electricity supply in and around the capital even more complicated
Africa Madagascar The 'unprecedented' fires of recent months in Ankarafantsika National Park are threatening livelihoods and lemurs; they are also drying up the landscape and reducing harvests in neighbouring communities, with knock-on effects for nearby forests
Africa Madagascar The large, centuries-old baobab trees are used in the Mahafaly plateau, the country's driest region, as cisterns to cope with the growing water shortage
Africa Madagascar SPI/FilmBox and Axian Group have signed a distribution agreement that makes four SPI channels available in the country; viewers will be able to watch FilmBox Africa, FilmBox Arthouse, DocuBox and FightBox in the Premium package
Africa Madagascar According to an investigation carried out in several regions by Transparency International, favouritism and bad governance have been detected in the work of Jirama, the public electricity and water distribution company
Africa Madagascar The lychee harvest campaign has begun in the Atsinanana region; according to the authorities of the city of Toamasina, more than 1.500 lychee pickers are taking part
Africa Madagascar The World Food Programme has reported that successive years of extreme weather events have plunged thousands of people in the country into what officials have described as the world's first climate-induced famine
Africa Madagascar Air Austral's first official flight, which reopens the country's borders for flights from the Indian Ocean, is scheduled for today; passengers from Europe are expected to arrive from 6 November onwards
Africa Madagascar A reforestation program is underway in the Tsitongambarika forest, in an attempt to replace lost woods; it is estimated that the country has lost almost 40% of its forests during the last 60 years
Africa Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina has been appointed as a champion of family planning, seen as an important lever for development, and signed the country's commitments and their official integration into the Family Planning 2030 initiative