Health In Harmony partners with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities living in and around the Manombo Forest in Southern Madagascar to implement community-designed solutions to halt deforestation. Manombo is shrinking rapidly under the pressures of slash-and-burn agriculture, logging, and hunting, which are rooted in food insecurity and a lack of healthcare and other livelihoods in the region. Communities requested support for healthcare, education, and training in regenerative livelihoods.
Madagascar is an extremely biodiverse country where nearly 50% of forests have been lost in the last six decades and 98% of lemur species face extinction, making them the most endangered mammals on earth. Madagascar's ecosystems are under increasing duress due to the complex pressures of poverty, an expected doubling of the population by 2050, widespread food insecurity paired with a vulnerable healthcare system, and the increasing intensity of climate shocks.
Health In Harmony has partnered with 31 communities around the Manombo Forest to support community-designed solutions that work at the intersection of human and ecosystem health. HIH Madagascar's medical team provides two mobile clinics per month to 11 locations selected by the communities and accessible for all villages. To address the well-being of communities and their land, we work alongside communities to strengthen food-system resilience and reduce slash-and-burn agriculture.
Communities have already seen an impact over the last three years. 31 communities now have access to high-quality, affordable healthcare, 13 seedling nurseries have been built with the capacity to hold 45,000 seedlings, 15 hectares of rainforest have been replanted, and more than 2,000 individuals (60% women) have been trained in regenerative agriculture. Communities typically expected one harvest of rice in a year, whereas they now expect to yield three times that amount.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
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