Shelter Centre

ANTANANARIVO Wednesday, February 03, 2010 (IRIN) - Madagascar's transitional government is allowing the export of illegally harvested precious hardwoods as a source of revenue to keep itself afloat. Conservationists say the cost is incalculable, and the huge Indian Ocean Island stands to lose its status as one of the world's biological hotspots.

JOHANNESBURG Thursday, January 07, 2010 (IRIN) - A tropical cyclone will “probably” hit Madagascar on 14 January, but a shortfall in donor funding means the enormous Indian Ocean island may be more vulnerable than usual.

IFOTAKA Friday, May 22, 2009 (IRIN) - Communities in southern Madagascar have a wealth of experience in dealing with the unforgiving, arid conditions of their region, but not even their finely honed farming skills and knowledge passed down for generations can withstand the relentless drought.

TANANDAVA Friday, May 15, 2009 (IRIN) - In Tanandava, a small village in the arid south of Madagascar, the community's most valuable asset is kept behind two padlocks to which two people each have a key. They can only access the school's food store when they are together.

JOHANNESBURG Tuesday, April 28, 2009 (IRIN) - Florine Zafy, who runs the health centre in Sampona, a tiny town in the Anosy region of southern Madagascar, has become as desperate as the parched landscape: three consecutive years of drought and meagre harvests have put thousands in the area on the slippery slope to hunger, and the children usually go first.

ANTANANARIVO Friday, April 24, 2009 (IRIN) - International donors need to face up to the seriousness of Madagascar's deepening humanitarian crisis and, perhaps more importantly, they need to pay up, said aid agencies on the Indian Ocean Island.

JOHANNESBURG Monday, April 06, 2009 (IRIN) - Aid agencies and Madagascar's disaster management authority, which has been paralyzed by months of political turmoil, are scrambling to asses the damage after tropical cyclone "Jade" struck on 6 April.