Into Madagascar
Up to 2 million people could eventually benefit from a new initiative recently announced by HoverAid and Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) Madagascar. In a collaborative venture, hovercraft supplied by HoverAid will operate from bases on the Mangoky river supported by MAF aircraft flying into some of the most remote parts of the world’s fourth largest island.
Conditions in the dry season are particularly harsh, and HoverAid will be transporting aid organisations and missions quickly to areas of the country that can take up to two weeks to get to in a 4x4 vehicle.
Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in Africa, and suffers from one of the highest chronic malnutrition rates in the world.
Many of the villages in the Mangoky region have very poor sanitation and water supplies. The initial phase of the programme will take place from September 2006 for two months, and will give us vital information about the needs of the people in the region.
We will be able to bring in assessment teams, sanitation and water experts, and health professionals. The programme will continue until 2008 expanding to several hovercraft operating on a number of river systems.