The United Nations System

RESIDENT COORDINATOR ANNUAL REPORT - 2009

MADAGASCAR

Final Version
24 February 2010

 
 Introductory Letter

I. Major development or political events that have had an effect on the work of the UN Country
Team

Following an unconstitutional change of government which took place on 17 March 2009, Madagascar has
experienced and is still facing a profound political crisis that remains unresolved in spite of the mediation efforts
undertaken by a joint international team1 under the aegis of the African Union (AU) and supported by the
International Contact Group (ICG). The Maputo Agreements and the Addis Ababa Additional Act that resulted from
such mediation efforts, which were signed by the 4 main national political parties in August and November 2009,
are not enforced.
The political crisis has led to the deterioration of the economy due to the closedown of businesses, the serious
consequences of the loss of hundreds of thousand jobs and the increased vulnerability of thousands of households.
After achieving a level of 7% in 2008, economic growth is estimated at -5% in 2009. The pauperization of the
population is increasing. The political crisis has also involved a breakdown of law and order, as shown by the
increasing number of cases of violation of human rights (civil, political, socioeconomic and cultural rights). Such a
situation poses a threat to lives, peace, social cohesion and development. The extensive illegal logging of primary
forests – notably rosewood located in natural reserves – is ruining the results of all investments made for the
safeguard of the environment and endangers the unique biodiversity of Madagascar.

The political crisis has affected the actions of the United Nations (UN) Agencies. Indeed, the suspension of the
Parliament and decentralized elected authorities, and the restructuring that were followed by new appointments
within the central administration and basic public services have disrupted the implementation of development
programs. To ensure the continuity of its operational activities, the UN Country Team has adopted the Special
Development Situations (SDS)2 modalities from 22 April 2009 onwards in order to enable the UN Agencies to
execute their activities.
The deterioration of public finance, resulting from a drop in revenue from taxes and customs and linked to the
near-collapse of the economy and the freezing of the 350 million USD external aid (which is supposed to fund 50%
of the government running budget - apart from salaries - and 75% of the public investment budget) has affected
basic social services and public infrastructure. Yet, in order to be efficient, the actions of the UN depend on those of
Madagascar’s technical and financial partners (TFP).

Finally, the impulse towards changing sector policies, a.e. the education sector, has negatively affected the
functioning of basic social services, thus undermining the progress achieved so far. In collaboration with the UN
Department of Political Affairs, the UN System has focused on actions that have direct impacts on the population
and sustain the progress made towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Policy, strategy and institution
related actions were suspended.

II. Highlights on progress in UN Reform

The coordination of interventions between the DPA and operational Agencies has been intensified. All resident and
non-resident Agencies - including DPA representatives, Bretton Woods institutions, OCHA and OHCHR - have
participated in regular Country Team meetings. Such meetings allowed the UN System to have a common
assessment of the evolution of the situation in the country and to harmonize views on approaches and priority
actions to fulfill national needs. These meetings also provided a dynamic forum for sharing updates on mediation
efforts, for initiating specific actions aimed at protecting human rights and for mitigating the consequences of the
crisis on the population's living conditions mainly regarding people’s rights to health, education and food.

Considering the socio-economic impact of the crisis, the UN Country Team has formulated a joint paper for the
International Contact Group (ICG) to raise its awareness on the risks involved by the deterioration of the economy
and the impact they may have on peace and the population access to basic social goods and services. The joint
paper also underlines the need to maintain at least a minimum level of technical and financial assistance for
Madagascar: (i) to keep the country on track of the MDGs achievement; (ii) to avoid creating negative social
and/or economic dynamics that might jeopardize the future in the medium and long term (for instance, in the
education area, children who are not enrolled today will be the illiterate of tomorrow, with all the social
consequences such a situation would entail); (iii) to better face potential humanitarian disasters.

With regard to management of programs, some Agencies were able to continue to implement the Harmonized
Approach to Cash Transfer (HACT), initiated in 2007 - using the modalities of reimbursement , direct payment and,

                                                            
1
Mediation team led by the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Organization (UNO), with active participation of the
Southern African Development Community (SADC), the International Contact Group (ICG), the International Francophonie
Organization (the French Speaking Countries) and the Indian Ocean Commission.
2
The "Special Development Situation" modality implies the following measures: the Agencies (i) sign workplans; (ii) directly
purchase and recruit on projects; (iii) sign contracts; (iv) give preference to direct payments and reimbursement when applying the
HACT modalities, whenever possible.

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to a lesser extent, advance of fund, - with national partners at decentralized levels (e.g. health districts) in order to
maintain supply of essential services like immunization. Considering the institutional changes that occurred within
the public administration both at central and decentralized level, and further to the increasing involvement of
NGOs, the UN System has undertaken about sixty micro-assessments of implementing partners (IPs) in 2009. The
UN Agencies now have the required information on IPs available to help them elaborate insurance, follow-up and
monitoring plans, which are essential for the implementation of programs in 2010.

Aid coordination efforts have been intensified and regular monthly meetings took place under the leadership of the
UN Resident Coordinator. In the absence of an international recognition of the de facto government, aid
coordination meetings have been rather focused on sharing information among technical and financial partners on
to the status of their respective cooperation projects with the country. With the support of the UN System, namely
through a UNDP-funded project, the partners have also improved the internal organization of their support: a
database on ODA has been set up and donors were trained to feed it online. The aid coordination mechanism is
thus operational on the partners' side. Finally, great progress has been observed in the functioning of the UN
Communication Group (UNCG), with the development of an annual work plan jointly funded by the UN System.

III. Highlights on progress towards UNDAF outcomes
The political crisis has strongly influenced the intervention strategy of the UN System, which had to suspend the
governance and institutional components of their programs and to adopt secured implementation modalities.
The collaboration between operational Agencies (DPA, OCHA and OHCHR) has been further strengthened during
the 2008-2011 UNDAF updating exercise. The "updating" formula has been adopted in lieu of the annual review
since the political context did not allow for an effective review, undertaken under the leadership of national
decision-makers. However, national counterparts were duly consulted at the technical level. Despite this situation,
the UNDAF updating exercise provided the UNCT with an opportunity to make an appraisal of the achievements
during 2009, to assess the relevance of the UNDAF outcomes, the risks and assumptions in the light of the political
crisis, and above all to develop a new strategic vision for the UN System for the transition period, which identifies
the priorities in the political, development and humanitarian areas.

The UN Reform provided the UN System with a common programming framework for that incorporates political and
humanitarian concerns as well as development challenges. Additional planning might be necessary to complete the
first phase of the programming process to ensure a greater synergy of UN actions, once an internationally
recognized government is in place. The aim is to make a significant impact on the improvement of the national
situation and to pursue the progress towards the MDGs.
The UNDAF updating confirmed that the five UNDAF outcomes remain relevant and that most of the outputs are
still valid. Indeed the overall goal of the UNDAF is to support the national efforts to achieve the MDGs and
implement the Millennium Declaration. It also highlighted the significant cumulative progress achieved since 2008
in the areas of social and economic development, humanitarian assistance and the promotion of human rights.

3.1 The preservation of progress made towards the MDGs and the implementations of the Millennium
Declaration have always been the focus of the UN System interventions and concrete results have been obtained.
The UN System could reach the following results regarding the UNDAF outcomes:

UNDAF outcome #1: The enjoyment by the population, particularly the poorest and most vulnerable, of their social,
economic, civil and political rights is improved through participatory and joint governance.
The UN System has pursued actions in support of alternative and proximity institutions that provide services,
advice and information on human rights to the population, called “cliniques juridiques” (centers for rights
promotion) to make up for the insufficiency of public services in isolated sites and poverty-stricken areas. These
clinics are operational in 761 municipalities and have allowed communities to solve issues related to the violation of
their rights. Child protection networks are also in place in 765 municipalities. After the national texts and standards
were made compliant with human rights, tangible improvements have been noticed in the prevention of the worst
forms of child labor, in the timely registration of births and in the protection of women's rights. About 604,000
children were offered retroactive birth registration. Some discriminatory cultural practices against women were
abandoned, such as the practice of "moletry" (bride price) and a tool for gender mainstreaming in local
development budgets and programs is available for implementation.

Regarding UN support to decentralization, the initiatives taken have brought positive changes at pilot sites: for
example, budget management has distinctly been improved in terms of transparency and from a deontological
perspective in 39 municipalities (administrative division under the district level) supported by the "Centres d'Appui
aux Communes" in 3 target regions. Thanks to training programs and the deployment of human resources experts,
regional and local planning capacity has been strengthened and the basis for good land tenure and management
could be consolidated in the pilot communes and regions. The scaling-up of such achievements would have brought
critical changes in the effectiveness of decentralization. Despite the suspension of the General Census of Population
and Habitat (RGPH), census mapping data have proved useful to establish the Geographic Information System of
Madagascar and to update the survey database, an essential tool to conduct future representative surveys in the
country. Lastly, regional monitoring and evaluation platforms have been established in the country’s 22 regions.

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UNDAF outcome #2: Inclusive economic growth in favor of vulnerable groups
Actions to promote private sector development were intensified and better coordinated, resulting in more effective
contribution of the private sector in the government’s major decisions regarding their interests. Research Centers
for Industrial and Commercial Development (CERDI) were set-up to serve as support platforms for micro, small
and medium-sized enterprises, and the Foreign direct investment (FDI) promotion capacity of the Economic
Development Board of Madagascar (EDBM) was strengthened. In the field of microfinance, the microfinance
institutions (MFIs) that are supported by the UN become increasingly efficient, thus contributing to reducing
vulnerability of the households where women are MFI clients (40% of the clients of MFIs). Besides, the UN System
has funded vocational training and small trade learning programs directed to young people and women; these
actions led to the successful creation of productive and decent jobs in the targeted areas.

Finally, thanks to sustained advocacy by the UN System, access to water and sanitation has been recognized as a
national priority, as evidenced by the creation of a Ministry of Water in late 2008 and the implementation of a
comprehensive program including awareness campaigns at the school setting and investments in hygiene and
sanitation infrastructure. The access of the poor to water and sanitation services has thus been expanded with an
additional 312.000 people having access to water and 420.000 to sanitation.

UNDAF outcome #3: The poorest population from the most vulnerable areas receive quality and equitable
education
The Education for All (EFA) plan, revised with the reform of basic education aiming at providing universal access to
children – boys and girls – to a 10-year compulsory basic education including 7 years of primary school, was
launched in 2008 in 20 school districts with technical and financial support from several partners, including the
allocation of the Fast Track initiative Catalytic funds amounting USD 85.1 million for 2009-2011. About 70,000
pupils have accessed the extended primary level. These efforts could be preserved in 2009 thanks to alternative
actions to channel through UN Agencies the resources allocated by donors to the education sector, usually
managed by the government. This pragmatic approach, endorsed by the partners in the education sector, enabled
to secure the salaries of FRAM (parents associations) teachers for the 4 first months of 2010 in order to preserve
EFA achievements. 166,000 students and teachers from 883 priority schools in the Southern regions of the country
were included in the school canteen programs; in addition, a set of activities were implemented: environment
protection, deworming, micronutrient supplementation and capacity building for communities.

As for school infrastructure, national standards and references are now applied for new constructions (569
classrooms built with support from the UN System in 2009) and for classroom rehabilitation (about 1,000).
Community mobilization actions aimed at education improvement have been undertaken: “School Commitment for
Success Agreements” are established in 2,210 Public Primary Schools (PPS), the FRAM associations participate in
regular maintenance of classrooms in 195 PPS. These interventions contribute to creating an acceptable learning
environment as well as sustainable school buildings; in addition to increasing the number of children who have
access to uninterrupted education. About 32,000 students in 158 schools now have access to water and sanitation
facilities that are compliant with WASH standards.

Finally, the promotion of preschool education has also been a success: the UN System supported the production of
20 preschool manuals in Malagasy and the creation of 21 new preschool centers to increase the number of
government-supported centers to 400 for about 15,600 children, as well as 6 pilot sites for parents education; this
action is an essential investment for the eradication of illiteracy. Additionally, the harmonization and
standardization of literacy programs allowed 1,928 out-of-school children (50% of whom are girls) to pass the
Primary and Elementary Studies Certificate exam thanks to the ASAMA methodology while 3,400 adolescents (50%
of whom are women) have started working life thanks to the AFI-D methodology.

UNDAF outcome #4: The living conditions and productivity of the populations in targeted areas are improved
The productive capacities of the targeted areas in the South, East, North-West and the highland regions have
notably increased as a result of different UN supported initiatives, such as improvement of hydro agricultural
networks, rehabilitation of rural roads, supply of improved seeds, adoption of new and more productive farming
techniques, assistance to selected sectors (fruits, vegetables and natural silk), establishment of community-based
granaries, training in small equipment manufacturing and agricultural product processing techniques, and
promoting access to; microfinance. These interventions, which are in line with agricultural programs that have
been initiated for a few years, resulted in higher agricultural yields, which protected Madagascar against famine
despite the multiple crises that repeatedly struck the country.
In the area of environment, the contribution of peripheral communities to the management and preservation of
terrestrial and marine protected areas has been increased as a result of the promotion of management transfer and
training in new and sustainable natural resource use techniques such communities received. However, the current
political crisis is affecting the action margins of these communities. Finally, the elimination of Chlorofluorocarbons
(CFC) use is on good track towing to the UN System assistance to address climate change.

UNDAF outcome #5: Populations have improved access to quality health healing and preventive care thanks to a
relevant legal and programmatic framework and environment
The overall strategic planning capacity of the Ministry of Health has significantly improved as a result of years of
assistance from its partners including the UN System; therefore the Ministry could still somehow continue

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implementing the National Health Program in spite of the crisis. The implementation of the road map to reduce
maternal and neonatal mortality has went along, as well as the protection of children against avoidable illnesses
through immunization and the control of the diseases to be eradicated. An integrated health actions program has
been adopted. The plan for securing of reproductive health supplies and standard operational procedures has been
put in place in district and community-based pharmacies. National preparedness and response capacity to
epidemics, including AH1N1 flu, has been improved, thus and the country has been able to control the spread of
epidemics. The UN System played a leading role in the coordination of health development partners. Nevertheless,
the implementations of the Compact, the signature of the IHP+, and the Health SWAp training have been put to a
halt.
However to face the decrease in health sector funding, UN Agencies had to take palliative actions to preserve
basic social services. With UN support, nurses and paramedics could be recruited to ensure the supply of health
services in areas where healthcare personnel is lacking. The supply of basic healthcare services therefore improved
notably in vulnerable areas, as evidenced by the increased number of antenatal consultations in the Androy and
Anosy regions in the South. Moreover, the availability of hospital obstetrical and emergency neonatal care (SONU)
in isolated areas (127 basic health centers in 5 regions) as well as care continuum in areas that are exposed to
natural disasters could be maintained.
More than 95% of children under 5 have received vitamin A supplementation, deworming pills and catch-up dose
during the Maternal and Child Health Weeks, which are organized twice a year. 72,000 beneficiaries, consisting of
children under 2 and pregnant/breastfeeding women, have received a quarterly ration of fortified flour and oil to
prevent malnutrition – partially under an interagency initiative aiming at improving reproductive health services.
The management of children under 5 has distinctly improved in over 50 basic health centers thanks to sustained
formative monitoring of their Integrated Management of Child Illnesses (IMCI) skills. The last Demographic and
Health Survey (DHS) data also point to significant progress made in malaria control. The distribution of the
524,000 insecticide treated bed nets and 2,600,000 doses of Sulfadoxine Pyrimethamine, made available to the
Ministry of Health, enable to better protect 430,000 pregnant women in 92 districts located in stable transmission
areas (coastal areas).
Mass campaigns for malaria prevention (domiciliary insecticide spraying and mass distribution of insecticide treated
bed nets) helped to protect of 13 million people. Policy and strategy documents for malaria control were developed
and “National Strategy Application (NSA)” and “Affordable Drugs Facility - malaria (AMFm)” proposals have been
submitted to the Global Fund (GFATM). The national response to the H1N1 flu pandemic has been effective in 2009
and 84% of children under 5 in 21 endemic districts have been dewormed against schistosomiasis and
geoheliminthiasis.

The coordinated assistance of the UN System through the joint HIV-AIDS program has contributed to improve the
package of HIV-AIDS prevention services. These actions contributed to maintain the prevalence rate below 1%.
Information about and services for prevention and screening of HIV-AIDS and sexually-transmitted infections (STI)
are thus available all over the country thanks to the establishment of the National Database. The implementation of
HIV-AIDS prevention projects by key high-risk populations demonstrates their effective involvement in the
HIV/AIDS and STI response. The skills and knowledge in Adolescent Reproductive Health (ARH) HIV/STI of
550,000 young people in 8 target regions have been strengthened. There also has been an increase in safer sex
behaviors, as shown by the higher rate of condom use and the postponement of first sex (preliminary results of
DHS 2008/09 vs DHS 2003/04).
The current legislation on HIV/AIDS and PLHIVs has been key to the active involvement of PLHIVs into the national
decision-making and response processes. The harmonization of the national ARV and MIO management and supply
system has been launched through its integration in the drug procurement and distribution center, SALAMA, and
the process become progressively operational. Finally, Madagascar – with technical support of the UN System – has
successfully submitted an HIV/AIDS prevention project to the Global Fund Round 8. The assistance of the UN
System in the purchase of STI and HIV-AIDS health supplies, notably in emergency situations (STI drugs and ARVs
for adults and children, drugs for opportunist infections, and screening kits for biological monitoring of PLHIVs)
contributed to the improvement of the care continuum system.

3.2 In the area of humanitarian assistance, several initiatives were started to ensure survival of
vulnerable groups.

As a result of improved preparedness to risks and well-coordinated mitigation actions, the level of vulnerability in
areas that are most exposed to natural disasters has been reduced. The UN System has invested in the reduction
of food shortage in vulnerable areas through an efficient food stock prepositioning; in the prevention of
malnutrition by rehabilitating production infrastructure; and in the reestablishment of the access to basic social
services (health and education) in these areas.
Since the very beginning of the political crisis, which added to periodic cyclones and droughts issues, the Country
Team could mobilize resources through a Flash Appeal (FA) that was initially launched to meet humanitarian needs
related cyclone, drought, and sociopolitical impacts, as well as a CERF (Central Emergency Response Fund)
request. More than 130,000 people in the 4 major cities of the country received emergency food assistance during
the first semester of 2009. The FA has been revised to focus more on the response to the drought-related crisis in
the South. Significant funding has been secured to provide assistance to 250,000 people exposed to food
insecurity. From June to September 2009, 123,000 people received emergency food assistance, whereas 8,000
children suffering from acute and severe malnutrition, 26,500 children suffering from moderate malnutrition, as
well as 24,000 at-risk pregnant and breastfeeding women were provided nutrition assistance. Subsequently, about

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25,000 people received food assistance alongside with agricultural inputs to support the 2009/10 agricultural
campaigns with a view to mitigating the impact of repeated droughts. The FA is currently funded at more than
90%, amounting to USD 22.3 million.
Besides, the IASC (Inter Agency Standing Committee) humanitarian team has just completed its first multi-crisis
contingency plan for 2009/10, an integrated tool aimed at improving preparedness to climate change and to a
deterioration of the national political situation. The contingency plan, which should complement the national
contingency plan, has been developed with the contribution of national NGOs, as well as technicians from ministries
and from the National Risk and Disaster Management Office (BNGRC). The plan has several advantages including:
i) it simultaneously considers three potential crises (cyclone/floods, droughts and sociopolitical crisis); ii) the plan
is budgeted, thus allowing an estimation of prepositioning needs ; iii) the plan includes a cluster-based coordination
mechanism, with variable modalities according to the type of the crisis; iv) the plan includes crisis alert and trigger
indicators which help to determine whether a situation points to an alert status, and/or to the end of the crisis.

Finally, in order to better monitor and assess the impacts of the political, social and economic crisis, the UN
Country Team started in April 2009 a series of 3 MCRaM surveys (Multi-Clusters Rapid Assessment Mechanism)
covering the following sectors: education, health, family planning, food security and agriculture, water and
sanitation, habitat, child protection and governance to assess vulnerability in the capital city – Antananarivo - and
Nosy Be. The data and facts that have been collected informed the UN System on the evolution of vulnerability.

3.3 The promotion and protection of Human Rights were given a particular attention considering the repeated
violations of fundamental rights. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human rights (OHCHR) joined efforts
with the UN Country Team through the temporary assignment of Human Rights Officers who worked in close
collaboration with resident Agencies to assess human rights issues and bring forth immediate solutions in the
face of a worsening situation. Training sessions have been organized respectively for: i) judges, lawyers,
investigation police officers, prison management officers, gendarmerie officers (combined training), in the
respect for international human rights standards and principles in the exercise of their duties, including
references to international standards and treaties in court orders; ii) journalists in ethics, deontology, respect
for human rights and social cohesion.

IV. Key aspects of the proposed 2010 workplan
The UN System will intervene in 5 areas:

1. Support to the transition process and restoration of the Rule of law. To this purpose, once a consensual
transition government is in place, the UN, in collaboration with local and international partners, may provide
political support and technical assistance (through support to transition institutions and activities), including
building national capacity for and increasing citizen participation in the organization of elections (the modalities are
yet to be determined). The UN Agencies will also consolidate their ongoing programs regarding respect and
protection of human rights, culture of peace and conflict prevention.

2. Given the progressive deterioration of certain public services, the UN System will ensure access to a minimum
package of basic social services, particularly in the area of 1) healthcare, by i) supporting the supply and
distribution chains for drugs and essential health supplies; ii) extending outreach strategies for health and nutrition
services; iii) providing drinking water and sanitation services to basic health centers, as well as targeted rural and
urban communities; 2) education where the UN System will play a lead role in strengthening basic capacities
aiming at the sustainability of a quality education. Development programs in both areas will also be pursued.

3. Protection of vulnerable groups, including PLHIVs and at-risk populations through social safety nets that should
immediately be strengthened. Given the importance of agriculture within the economy, the UN System will support
targeted interventions aiming at rapidly increasing food production.

4. Specific actions to support economic recovery (with particular focus on women, young people and the victims of
the crisis including businesses) are also planned. Such actions will support i) the establishment of employment and
self-employment promotion measures; ii) special emergency assistance measures for SMEs, which are the driver of
economic growth; iii) the establishment of inclusive market development systems; and iv) increasing the access to
financial services, particularly microfinance. Activities to improve M&E in the country will also be promoted.

5. Regarding natural or humanitarian disasters, the UN System will allocate more resources to protect the most
vulnerable groups and will strengthen its role in preparedness, coordination and implementation of emergency
responses through the cluster system, which will be strengthened by the "inter-cluster3" body. The UN System will
also develop a concept note on a new complementary funding system, such as basket fund.

                                                            
3
The "inter-cluster" is a body which role is to arbitrate priorities between humanitarian interventions.

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Recommendations

Significant improvements were made in 2009 in the coordination between UN Agencies, however the development
of joint programs was lacking. Our recommendation to UNDG and DOCO is to communicate more on the subject
and better support UN Country Teams so they can make use and benefit from the added value of joint programs.

Considering the challenging situation UNCT has to face in a crisis context and the difficulty to work in a country
where de-facto government institutions are not recognized, we recommend that DOCO keeps UN Country Teams
informed on the process leading to the establishment of an integrated office, which might be an appropriate option
for dealing with political challenges in relation to operational activities.

Knowledge and skill building training in programming in conflict situations should also be systematically
recommended to UN Country Team members and to the UN Agencies staff, with support from DOCO.

Learning form the successful experience of conducting the Joint UNDAF update exercise during the crisis, with the
participation of DPA, OHCHR and OCHA, we recommend that DOCO encourages DPA and operational agencies to
systematically plan together and combine joint strategic assessment and UNDAF review exercises for the sake of
coherence and cost-efficiency.

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