Malagasy Children Bear Brunt of Severe Drought

Nearly half the children in drought-stricken South Madagascar are malnourished. Credit: Miriam Gathigah/IPSBy Miriam GathigahAMBOVOMBE, Madagascar, Jul 8 2016 (IPS)Voahevetse Fotetse can easily pass for a three-year-old even though he is six and a pupil at Ankilimafaitsy Primary School in Ambovombe district, Androy region, one of the most severely affected by the ongoing drought in the South of Madagascar.“Fotetse is just like many of the pupils here who, due to chronic malnutrition, are much too small for their age, they are too short and too thin,” explains Seraphine Sasara, the school’s director.The school has a total population of 348 – 72 boys and 276 girls – and they range from three to 15 years. Fewer boys stay in school as they spend most of their time helping on the farm or grazing the family livestock.The tide, however, turns when the girls reach 15 years, at which point most are withdrawn from school and married off.But in school or out of school, nearly half of the children in Southern Madagascar have not escaped malnutrition. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) says that stunting –  where children are too short for their age – affects at least 47 percent of children under five.“I feed my eight children on rice for breakfast and supper but for lunch, they have to eat cactus fruits." -- Mamy Perline Compared to acute malnutrition, which can develop over a short period and is reversible, stunting has more far-reaching conse...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: Global & Universal Authors: Tags: Advancing Deserts Africa Aid Climate Change Development & Aid Education Environment Food & Agriculture Headlines Health Humanitarian Emergencies Inequity Population Poverty & SDGs Water & Sanitation Women's Health Child Mal Source Type: news