As the 2023 Integrated Food Security Phase Classification report indicated, the past year has seen a significant improvement in food security in southern Madagascar, in part because of a concerted humanitarian response and better rains. The UK has contributed to this progress, including through £2 million support to the World Food Programme as well as through funding to post-cyclone recovery in south-eastern Madagascar.

The UK is also a major contributor to the World Bank and the UN, both central players in addressing remaining malnutrition in southern Madagascar. Alongside likeminded partners, the British Embassy continues to monitor the situation closely and lobby the Government of Madagascar for increased attention and funding to the affected areas.

In the financial year 2021/22 the FCDO spent £13 million of UK ODA bilaterally through centrally managed programmes, principally on humanitarian response (£6 million), family planning (£3.5 million) and disaster risk insurance (£2.1 million). Our key multi-lateral partners in Madagascar are the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the African Development Bank and the UN System, including the global health, education and climate funds.

In December 2022, DEFRA will launch its Bio-Diverse Landscapes Fund programme in Madagascar. This will spend £10 million over 6 years to protect and restore Madagascar's dry and humid terrestrial forests and will complement existing DEFRA-funded work to protect mangrove forests in the marine environment. There are also several biodiversity and conservation projects in Madagascar through the Darwin Initiative.

In the financial year 2021/22 the FCDO spent £13 million of UK ODA bilaterally through centrally managed programmes, principally on humanitarian response (£6 million), family planning (£3.5 million) and disaster risk insurance (£2.1 million). Our key multi-lateral partners in Madagascar are the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the African Development Bank and the UN System, including the global health, education and climate funds.

In December 2022, DEFRA will launch its Bio-Diverse Landscapes Fund programme in Madagascar. This will spend £10 million over 6 years to protect and restore Madagascar's dry and humid terrestrial forests and will complement existing DEFRA-funded work to protect mangrove forests in the marine environment. There are also several biodiversity and conservation projects in Madagascar through the Darwin Initiative.

We are aware of allegations of pollution from the QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM) ilmenite mining operations in south-east Madagascar. QMM, a joint venture between Rio Tinto and the Government of Madagascar, has denied the allegations. The UK welcomes ongoing efforts involving the national and regional authorities, QMM and the local community to establish the facts in the case and address the concerns of local residents.

The UK is supporting an international multisector response to severe and prolonged drought in the south of Madagascar. Through the World Food Programme (WFP) our food assistance support is targeted at whole families with varying numbers of children per household. In total we are reaching 100,000 people in 20,000 households. Through UNICEF our support to health and nutrition is focused on building the knowledge and capacity of parents and care-givers to prevent malnutrition and is reaching 150,000 mothers and primary care givers.

We are also a major contributor to other multilateral partners and UN agencies such as the World Bank; the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO); and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) who are working with the Government of Madagascar and local communities on important aspects of early recovery and resilience such as protecting farmland, replanting crops, and reforestation in the drought-affected south. Later this year we will launch DEFRA's £10 million Bio-Diverse Landscapes Fund to strengthen the sustainable management of nine forest protected areas throughout Madagascar, including in the south, over the next seven years.

The UK has allocated £1,000,000 in humanitarian funding to support the response to the cyclone and tropical storm. This money is allocated through UNICEF and also a contribution to a Red Cross Emergency Appeal. Ahead of these weather events we have shared data and expertise from the UK Met Office, allowing partners to better prepare.

The UK is also a contributor to several pooled funding mechanisms which have made allocations to the cyclone response in Madagascar, including the Red Cross Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (approx. £600,000), the Start Network (£635,000) and the UN Central Emergency Relief Fund (approximately £1,800,000).

The UK is deeply concerned about the impact of Tropical Cyclone Batsirai, which hit South Eastern Madagascar on 5th February. Impact and needs assessments are currently underway, results are expected at the end of this week. We know 131,000 people in Madagascar were affected by Tropical Storm Ana in January.

The Red Cross Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) has allocated funding CHF750,000 (approx. £600,000) for both Tropical Cyclone Batsirai and Tropica Storm Ana. The Start Network has set aside nearly £420,000 to provide assistance through cash transfers, in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Batsirai. The UK is a contributor to, and champion of, these funds. In addition to these steps, ahead of these weather events we were able to share the precise data and expertise of the UK Met Office, allowing partners to prepare.

The UK will continue to closely monitor the situation in Madagascar to understand if further support is needed.

The UK is deeply concerned by the humanitarian crisis in southern Madagascar. According to the latest official figures, around 1.64 million people (37%) in southern Madagascar were experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity between November and December 2021. The UK is working closely with the UN, the Government of Madagascar and other donors to ensure aid reaches those in need. In 2021, the UK allocated £5 million to UN humanitarian agencies to provide life-saving food assistance, nutrition and health interventions, access to safe water and to reinforce humanitarian system coordination in southern Madagascar. This UK funding will reach 250,000 people, including the provision of food assistance to 132,000 people. In addition, the UK is a core contributor to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund which allocated approximately £11.07 million ($15m) to the international response last year.

As COP26 Presidents, the UK is committed to driving action to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees and support countries most vulnerable to climate change, such as Madagascar, adapt to its impacts. The UK is a long-standing supporter of adaptation to climate change in Africa, with around half of the UK's £2.7 billion adaptation budget between 2016 and 2020 spent across the continent. Ahead of COP26, we have contributed £175 million to the Risk-informed Early Action Partnership, operating across Africa, which aims to make 1 billion people safer from disasters globally by 2025 through expanding early action financing, improving early warning systems and building the capacity to act on the risks they identify. At COP26, the UK has strengthened these commitments, joining African nations and other donors in contributing £20 million to the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme - an African-owned initiative which aims to support at-risk communities in countries such as Madagascar build resilience to extreme weather - as well as an additional £42m for adaptation through our flagship Africa Regional Climate and Nature programme. The UK is also a major contributor to the World Bank International Development Association (IDA)'s large-scale infrastructure programme operating in Madagascar, which will support longer-term adaptation through the creation of multi-use water systems throughout the country's three southern regions.

The UK also remains deeply concerned by the humanitarian crisis in southern Madagascar, which is driven by multiple factors including climate shocks. We are working closely with the UN, Government of Madagascar and other donors to ensure aid reaches those in need. In 2021, the UK has allocated £5 million to UN humanitarian agencies to provide life-saving food assistance, nutrition and health interventions, access to safe water and to reinforce humanitarian system coordination in southern Madagascar. This UK funding will reach 250,000 people, including the provision of food assistance in the form of emergency cash transfers to 132,000 people. In addition, the UK is a core contributor to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund which has allocated approximately £5.78 million to the international response this year.

The UK is deeply concerned by the humanitarian crisis in southern Madagascar, which is driven by multiple factors including climate shocks and the impact of COVID-19 on livelihoods. The UK is working closely with the UN, Government of Madagascar and other donors to ensure aid reaches those in need. In 2021, the UK has allocated £5 million to UN humanitarian agencies to provide life-saving food assistance, nutrition and health interventions, access to safe water and to reinforce humanitarian system coordination in southern Madagascar. This UK funding will reach 250,000 people, including the provision of food assistance to 132,000 people. In addition, the UK is a core contributor to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund which has allocated approximately £5.78 million to the international response this year.

​The UK is concerned about reports of the use of child labour in the mining industry in Madagascar. We are committed to eradicating all forms of modern slavery. Under the Modern Slavery Act, all large businesses in the UK with a turnover of £36 million or more are required to publish an annual transparency statement detailing the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery from occurring in their business and supply chains. This enables consumers, investors and campaigners alike to hold businesses to account. The UK regularly raises human rights concerns with the Government of Madagascar. At the 34th Session of the Universal Periodic Review in November 2019, the UK recommended Madagascar strengthen its existing legislation to ensure that all forms of modern slavery and human trafficking are criminalised in line with international conventions and standards; this includes the exploitation of children.

The British Embassy in Antananarivo has raised this important issue with the Government of Madagascar and will continue to do so. The UK is already a major supporter of family planning in Madagascar, including contraceptives. So far in 2018, we have provided approximately £4.6m through the United Nations Population Fund Supplies programme. Additionally, through the £200m pan-Africa Women’s Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) programme announced by the Prime Minister in August, the UK will invest a further £9.3 million between 2018 and 2021. We call on other donors and the Government of Madagascar to step up their efforts to ensure access to modern methods of family planning to all women and men who need it.

No discussions have taken place between the Foreign Secretary and his counterpart regarding the human rights for Christians in Madagascar. Around 90% of Malagasy self-identify as Christian, including the current President and most members of the current government. Christian churches are found in even the smallest village, and State TV regularly broadcasts programmes aimed at a Christian audience. We are unaware of any state abuses of Christians on the basis of their faith. Our Embassy in Madagascar attends regular human rights meetings in local multilateral fora and raises issues of concern where necessary.

The UK is helping to strengthen Madagascar’s agricultural development through our support to multilateral agencies, including the World Food Programme and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, as well as participation in the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Plan Partner Group. DFID does not have a bilateral Country Programme in Madagascar.

​In response to the events of 21 April in Antananarivo, the UK, France, Germany and the EU issued a joint public statement on 22 April. This condemned the violence and called on all political actors to act responsibly. It also called for the rights of freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly to be respected. Our Ambassador in Madagascar, along with other international partners, have made representations at the highest level regarding this, as well as for the constitutionality of the electoral process to be respected, and for the elections themselves to be conducted in a free, fair, transparent and inclusive manner. The UK will work closely with SADC and other international partners on the ground in Antananarivo to support dialogue and a peaceful resolution to the current political tensions. The first round of dialogue took place on 25 April in advance of the deployment of envoys from SADC, the AU and the UN. During SADC’s most recent visit to Antananarivo on 3 April, their delegation met with our Ambassador and with the key Malagasy political actors, and stressed the importance of stability in the run-up to elections.