Madagascar remains vulnerable to natural shocks such as drought, cyclones, and floods. After the passage of the intense cyclones Batsirai and Emnati in February 2022, numerous households had their houses severely affected by the wind gusts. In total, there were 16,163 houses totally destroyed, 33,226 houses dislodged, and 19,382 houses flooded in the Vatovavy region.

In the first hours after the crisis, IOM, together with other partners, participated in two multi-sectoral rapid assessments (RMA) to determine the number of internally displaced persons in the three regions and five communes most affected. The information gathered allowed for a rapid transition to assist affected households. As a result, IOM, in collaboration with its implementing partners, provided cash transfer assistance to households in the seven communes of the Vatovavy region affected by the cyclones for house rehabilitation for the most vulnerable populations.

"We are very grateful for the support for house reconstruction. What we earn daily only allows us to buy some food. Not having a house to live in is indeed a great hardship, but thanks to the assistance from IOM, we can now start rebuilding our own house," said Florence, direct beneficiary of the UN CERF-funded project.

In total, the IOM project has assisted 4,000 households in seven target communes in the Vatovavy region; IOM has also provided Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) trainings for 123 stakeholders and rehabilitated four shelters.

"In Madagascar, we were able to respond quickly to the climate tragedy that occurred in February this year. Our main effort was to provide immediate assistance, but also to monitor and follow up on the feedback from our beneficiaries, staying on track for continuous performance improvement. Humanitarian aid is one of the key areas of IOM's work, and we will continue to provide support to those most in need, drawing on the years of experience of IOM's offices around the world", - summed up Roger Charles Evina, Chief of IOM Mission to Madagascar and Comoros.

Another cyclical natural challenge is drought. The chaotic situation caused by food insecurity in the Grand Sud region of the country forces thousands of people to leave their villages to seek survival in urban centres. Between December 2020 and March 2021, nearly 3,000 internally displaced people were counted in cities in the South of Madagascar (Amboasary, Fort Dauphin, Toliara) but also in transit points or destinations in the rest of the country (Fianarantsoa, Antananarivo and in the northern and north-western regions of the country). Displacement presents many challenges for both sending and receiving communities, including increasing the risk of exposure to abuse and exploitation, and can

lead to social tension and conflict as it puts increased pressure on the already limited resources of some receiving communities.

To collect information on the most vulnerable households, IOM has started data collection exercice in 20 targeted communes in 4 districts (Ambovombe, Tsihombe, Amboasary, Ampanihy Andrefana). The action is part of the deployment of the Displacement Monitoring Matrix (DTM) in the Grand Sud. Twelve agents trained in DTM are currently mobilised to collect data from key informants. The forthcoming DTM report will provide information on the number of households and individuals who moved between 2019/2021, the reasons for the movements, the destinations, the returns, as well as the presence of other migrants who settle in the communes.

For more information please contact EKATERINA SAMOLYGO, esamolygo@iom.int