The UK Minister for Africa Vicky Ford has announced a further £500,000 of UK aid for Madagascar following a series of extreme weather events.

The new UK support will allow UNICEF to provide safe water, emergency sanitation, and hygiene services for 13,500 people and to help monitor for outbreaks of water-borne diseases.

This is in addition to the £500,000 the UK contributed to the Red Cross emergency appeal earlier this month. 

UK Minister for Africa, Vicky Ford said:

“Cyclone Emnati is the fourth extreme weather event to hit Madagascar in the last month. They have impacted hundreds of thousands of people, causing widespread flooding, displacement and destroying livelihoods.

“This additional £500,000 will bring the level of UK support to a total of £1m, providing immediate assistance to vulnerable communities through partners on the ground and helping Madagascar to recover.”

UNICEF Representative in Madagascar, Jean-François Basse said:

 "This support from the United Kingdom comes at a crucial time as UNICEF and partners are on the ground working to assist those impacted by these cyclones and tropical storms. By urgently addressing the water and sanitation needs of these communities we can keep a bad situation from getting worse.”  

 Tropical Cyclone Emnati hit Madagascar on 22^nd February, following Cyclone Batsirai and Storm Dumako in early February and Storm Ana in January.

These extreme weather events have affected up to half a million people with widespread flooding and destruction of property, schools, and health centres.

When these natural disasters strike, the UNICEF team is at the forefront of deploying key responses and providing assistance to victims. The main activities are related to the installation of water storage and treatment tanks, the construction of emergency latrines and vector control, and the distribution of hygiene kits that include household water treatment tablets/solutions, sanitary napkins, soap bars, a bucket with a lid, a plastic cup, hydroalcoholic gel, and handwashing devices.

The UK continues to work with local authorities and partners to monitor the situation closely.