Addressing toilet taboos to improve sanitation

MADAGASCAR: Tropical storm Irina claims 72 lives

ANTANANARIVO, 7 March 2012 (IRIN) - Less than two weeks after being battered by Cyclone Giovanna, another violent storm has swept over Madagascar killing 72 people and leaving 70,000 homeless, according to the National Disaster Risk Management Agency. full report

MADAGASCAR: Stunted children means stunted lives

MANJAKANDRIANA, 23 February 2012 (IRIN) - At the age of four, Henintsoa Rakotoarimanana weighs just 10kg and, at a height of 84cm, is not much larger than a baby. Fed on rice and cassava since he was born, he is now receiving treatment for malnutrition at Maharodaza Nutrition Centre in Manjakandriana, about 30km from Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo. full report

MADAGASCAR: Cyclone Giovanna struck with little warning

BRICKAVILLE, 20 February 2012 (IRIN) - In a cyclone-prone country like Madagascar, which feels the force of about 60 percent of the storms that form over the Indian Ocean every year, being prepared for disaster makes all the difference. full report

MADAGASCAR: Cyclone kills at least 10 people

ANTANANRIVO, 15 February 2012 (IRIN) - At least 10 people have died after Cyclone Giovanna struck Madagascar but details of its impact on the regions which bore the brunt of the category-four tropical storm remain sketchy, as communications and electricity supplies have been cut. full report

MADAGASCAR: Cyclone expected in high population areas

JOHANNESBURG, 13 February 2012 (IRIN) - A category four tropical storm, Cyclone Giovanna, is expected to make landfall on 14 February close to the Madagascan east coast town of Toamasina and thereafter head for the capital Antananarivo. full report

MADAGASCAR: The “less is more” philosophy of rice production

TALATA, 31 January 2012 (IRIN) - Ernest Rakotoarivony, 45, was teased by some members of the Talata community, a small town 30km north of Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo, after breaking with traditional rice cultivation methods and employing a technique taught to him by a Jesuit priest. full report

MADAGASCAR: Illegal rosewood trade continues

ANTALAHA, 19 January 2012 (IRIN) - Environmentalists and the international community are trying to find ways of limiting the damage caused by an explosion in the illegal logging of precious hardwoods in Madagascar since a major political crisis began there nearly three years ago. full report

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Pick of the year 2011

JOHANNESBURG, 29 December 2011 (IRIN) - In 2011 the global economic crisis combined with poor governance, financial mismanagement and unpredictable rainfall to push several southern African countries to the point of crisis. Others responded to rising unemployment and increased pressure on national budgets by hardening their attitude towards immigrants and closing their borders to asylum-seekers. IRIN covered developments from all over the region, but the following stories consistently grabbed headlines: full report

MADAGASCAR: Legal aid clinics help rural women

MANANJARY, 22 December 2011 (IRIN) - Legal aid clinics are playing an important role during Madagascar's current political and economic crisis, especially for poverty-hit rural women who are under-served by the country's ailing judicial system. full report