Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 September 2021
199. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to, and his views on, the emerging famine in southern Madagascar, the world’s first climate-induced famine as described by the UN World Food Programme. [43423/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn response to the emerging famine in southern Madagascar, the consequence of three consecutive years of drought compounded by Covid-19, in July I approved a grant of €0.5m in Irish Aid funding to the World Food Programme's activities in Madagascar. This enables WFP to provide life-saving food rations and nutritional support to the most vulnerable and is in addition to the annual core funding to WFP from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Currently 1.13 million people are facing acute food insecurity and 14,000 people are catastrophically food insecure. In addition, 500,000 children, aged 6 to 59 months are suffering from acute malnutrition. This is likely to deteriorate further over the coming months, which are the traditional lean season. My officials, including through the Embassy of Ireland in Maputo and engagement with the UN humanitarian system, continue to actively monitor the situation in Madagascar.
