Drought in southern Madagascar has left 850,000 people experiencing "emergency" levels of hunger with nothing but wild fruits to eat. Aid is desperately needed to prevent an already dire situation becoming a "catastrophe" warn UN agencies. “Emergency” is phase four of a five-point scale used by food agencies, where five is famine. Many households are resorting to begging, selling land or possessions, and eating vital seed stocks in order to stay alive. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says that the number of hungry people across Madagascar, which includes Madagascar's capital, Antananarivo, rose from about one million before the drought began last year
Drought in southern Madagascar has left 850,000 people experiencing "emergency" levels of hunger with nothing but wild fruits to eat. Aid is desperately needed to prevent an already dire situation becoming a "catastrophe" warn UN agencies. “Emergency” is phase four of a five-point scale used by food agencies, where five is famine. Many households are resorting to begging, selling land or possessions, and eating vital seed stocks in order to stay alive. Food stocks from the last harvest had already run out by August with the next harvest not due until March next year.