Five MEPs from the European Parliament’s Committee on Development (DEVE), who had just returned from Madagascar, called, on Monday 30 May, for more food and nutritional support in the south of the country.
The delegation, led by Karsten Lucke (S&D, Germany), undertook a two-day mission (23-25 May) to this ACP partner country to gather information on the impact of the famine in the country’s Far South region.
Among other things, MEPs visited school feeding and nutrition projects and rural development projects supporting small-scale farmers.
They also met with representatives of the World Food Programme and UNICEF, as well as local government and civil society organisations.
“The EU and Member States must urgently increase their financial means to respond to the unprecedented humanitarian needs”, said Mr Lucke, referring to the impact of soaring food prices on the region.
Welcoming the development strategy for the south of the country that the government is working on, he added: “We encourage the authorities to render this strategy operational, coordinate with development partners and focus on better governance and the provision of basic infrastructure and social services”. However, the delegation said it was “concerned about the lack of progress in the fight against corruption and the treatment of child labour in Madagascar”. In February 2020, the European Parliament had denounced child labour in mica mines.
According to the delegation, the EU and its partners should “maintain their assistance to meet urgent needs in southern Madagascar, while promoting long-term development through sustainable agriculture, water and sanitation and family planning”.
Karsten Lucke was accompanied by Mónica Silvana Gonzalez (S&D, Spain), Stéphane Bijoux (Renew Europe, France), María Soraya Rodríguez Ramos (Renew Europe, Spain) and Ryszard Czarnecki (ECR, Poland). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)