In the South and South-East, three mobile clinics will now travel to remote villages. The medico-nutritional crises in this part of the island are increasingly aggravated by repeated natural hazards. The dire conditions in which the population find themselves often lead to domestic abuse, early marriage, lack of access to family planning and drastic measures taken by mothers to feed their children. Women and girls made vulnerable are the most exposed to these abuses.
In response to this crisis, the United Nations Population Fund (UNDAF) intervened by deploying mobile clinics in 12 districts in the south and south-east. With a USAID grant of $2 million, he acquired these three mobile clinics to prevent gender-based violence and sexual abuse. These mobile clinics serve more than 100,000 people, including more than 2,500 people with disabilities. More than 19,000 people have already accessed these services, including family planning and referrals, through which victims can learn about their rights and access services to protect against gender-based violence, USAID reports. By the end of 2023, UNFPA hopes to reach more than 170,000 people out of the 2.23 million people living in areas receiving humanitarian assistance.
« The deployment of these mobile clinics is an essential part of the response to drought-related emergencies for vulnerable women and adolescent girls in the South, and also builds community resilience. said Anne Williams, Director General of USAID/Madagascar, at the inauguration of the mobile clinics yesterday.
Clinics also serve as centralized warehouses for supplies and information and provide venues for health, legal and community organizations.