It was an absolute pleasure for the team at Feedback Madagascar and Ny Tanintsika to host the British Ambassador, David Ashley, his wife and team to visit post-cyclone projects funded by the UK Embassy.  

Cyclones Batsirai and Emnati hit the southern Ikongo district within two weeks of each other in February 2022, tearing through communities and leaving an aftermath of destruction. Over 100 people were killed, hundreds of schools were destroyed and damaged. Bridges collapsed, landslides cut off roads, fields were silted over and swathes of crops and trees were destroyed. Thousands of already poor families were left homeless and the destruction caused to fields, crops and trees left severe hunger in the immediate aftermath, with food insecurity still being a major issue. 

The municipality of Ankarimbelo, on the eastern edge of the rainforest, suffered the highest death rates during the cyclones and its two main health centres were devastated. After the cyclones last year, Ankarimbelo Hospital was reduced to one leaking room where newborn babies and mothers were crammed in with sufferers of infectious diseases. 

Last week a British Embassy team led by the Ambassador, David Ashley, visited the parts of southern Ikongo worst affected. They came to see projects undertaken by Feedback Madagascar and Ny Tanintsika, as well as the World Food Programme. 

The Ambassador and team discussed with farmers who, with support from Feedback Madagascar, have managed to access seeds and plant new crops. 

Alongside the District Chief, Ambassador Ashley inaugurated a major bridge at Ifanirea rebuilt with British funding. 

The bridge is a lifeline linking the 3 most southern municipalities of Ikongo district to the east coast (Antodinga, Ankarimbelo & Kalafotsy) in addition to part of the Ifanirea municipality. The team also visited several of the 21 schools whose roofs have been rebuilt and talked to children and teachers. By hiking and wading across rivers, they also visited the two new medical centres (CSBI and CSBII) in Ankarimbelo, rebuilt with UK funding. The majority of materials needed to rebuild these health centres was carried on foot across the forest for over a day’s walk due to inaccessibility post-cyclone and to help support the local population with much-needed income for food needs. 

Reflecting on his three-day visit, Ambassador Ashley said: “I was touched by the extraordinary welcome from the people in Ifanirea, Antodinga and Ankarimbelo. I am proud to see how the assistance from the British Government has really helped communities to overcome the cyclone damage and rebuild their lives. 

“But I also saw how hard life remains in this beautiful but hard-to-access part of the country, 20 months after Cyclone Batsirai. There is still so much work to do, including to improve roads and conditions in schools as well as to prevent further hunger. Our conversations with girls in Ankarimbelo reinforced how vital it is that all children can access free, quality primary and secondary education so that they can realise their potential.

Whilst some improvements have been made to roads and other infrastructure there is still an enormous amount of work to do and investment needed to ensure that southern Ikongo remains accessible year-round.