ILO and Embassy of Japan in Madagascar launch a project to strengthen community resilience against COVID-19 and drought

Antananarivo - 24 June 2022 - The Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, the Embassy of Japan and the ILO in Madagascar officially launch a project aimed at strengthening community resilience against the COVID-19 crisis and drought through green works in Amboasary and Bekily districts

Press release | 24 June 2022
The official launching ceremony of the project took place on Friday, June 24, 2022, and was honoured by the presence of H.E. Fidiniavo RAVOKATRA, Minister of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, H.E. HIGUCHI Yoshihiro, Ambassador of Japan in Madagascar, and Dr Coffi Agossou, Resident Representative of the ILO in Madagascar. The event also brought together all stakeholders, including representatives of Employers (GEM) and Workers (CTM).

Southern Madagascar, particularly in Amboasary and Bekily, has been undergoing a serious humanitarian crisis deriving from severe climate change-induced drought. Over one million people are on the edge of starvation. This human catastrophe is resulted from three consecutive years of unprecedented drought. The drought has wiped out harvests and hampered people's access to food and livelihood. The COVID-19 pandemic further compounded the socio-economic situation, resulting in negative impacts on the world of work.

This project, funded by Japan with a contribution of USD 740,740, aims to support quick socio-economic recovery by generating employment through the construction and rehabilitation of critical rural/agricultural/green infrastructure for the benefit of the affected districts. It also aims to protect the environment through the implementation of green works, with a view to improving food security and nutrition.

In his opening remarks, Dr Agossou said,

Today’s ceremony is another beacon of hope for the affected population in the districts of Amboasary and Bekily. Together the ILO and the Japanese NGO Community Road Empowerment (CORE) will consult with the actors in the areas of intervention to, on the one hand, create immediate income-generating opportunities and, on the other hand, rehabilitate basic infrastructure to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable communities, while improving their adaptation to climate change. The proposed activities will build on the long experience of the ILO in providing quality infrastructure using employment-intensive approaches (EIIP)."

The Resident Representative of the ILO particularly underscored the critical partnership with the NGO CORE, which adopts a local resource-based approach (local labor and materials) that is amendable for the creation of jobs and the realization of basic infrastructure, maximizing community ownership of development interventions. The ILO also intends to mainstream decent work principles in the delivery of this project that will contribute to food self-sufficiency in the Grand Sud.

H.E. HIGUCHI Yoshihiro, Ambassador of Japan to Madagascar, confirmed that:

This Japanese-funded ILO project supports socio-economic recovery through the promotion of employment and the provision of essential rural/agricultural infrastructure for the benefit of the affected districts, as well as the protection of the environment through the implementation of green works, with a view to improving food security and nutrition. Through this intervention, the project aims to strengthen the resilience of southern communities to disasters."


Mr Fidiniavo RAVOKATRA, Minister of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, declared in his speech that

All the concerned stakeholders have joined forces for this common humanitarian cause, this joint initiative for the benefit of the Southern Regions of country and the most vulnerable communities affected by the drought and the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a project initiated in favor of the population of Southern Madagascar, in particular those in Amboasary and Bekily”, but he also added that “Water is life! And, speaking of green works, productive green infrastructure for farmers and agricultural activities, we cannot ignore the issue of water. This is one more reason for us to strengthen the support of the Malagasy Administration at all stages of the project."

Finally, he officially launched the project.

The project is fully aligned with Velirano 6 "Decent jobs for all" and Velirano 9 "Food self-sufficiency" of the Madagascar Emergence Plan, Sustainable Development Goal 8 “Decent Work and Economic growth”  and Goal 13 “Climate Action”, the Yokohama Declaration of Tokyo International Conference on Africa’s Development (TICAD) 7,  and G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment.

For further information, please contact:

Ms RAMANANTSOA Miora Eryca, Communication Director, MEAH
| T: 038 05 335 84, E : meah.dircom@gmail.com

Ms ANDRIANAVALONA ROVANIAINA FANOMEZANTSOA, Embassy of Japan
| T: 020 22 493 57 , E : fanomezantsoa.andrianavalona@tv.mofa.go.jp

Mr Yves Etienne Rakotoarison, National Project Coordinator, ILO CO-Antananarivo
|M: +261 34 30 251 02 E : rakotoarison@ilo.org