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A6 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 5 december 2020

In southern Madagascar, ‘nothing to feed our children’

By LAETITIA BEZAIN names of the dead are kept
Associated Press in a notebook held by the
ANKILIMAROVAHATSY, village leader, Refanampy.
Madagascar (AP) — “It’s “We’re used to famine, but
the hunger that killed him,” this time it’s just too much,”
the grieving mother said. he said. “Before this, we
In this village in Madagas- didn’t have people dying
car’s extreme south, the (of hunger) in our village.”
31-year-old Lasinatry lost The river Mandrare, which
her 3-year-old boy in June traverses the region, is now
as hunger swept the re- dry. Ten-year-old Masy
gion, more severe than in Toasy walked in the direc-
recent years. tion of men who dug into
“We, the parents, have the sand in search of water.
nothing to feed our chil- “It’s here that we tried to
dren aside from tamarind grow sweet potatoes, but
and the cactus that we they’re all dead,” the girl
find around us,” she said. said. On the other side of
On a visit this week, The As- the river is her school, but
sociated Press spoke with she said her parents have
suffering families who are sold her notebooks to buy
among the 1.5 million peo- a little rice.
ple in need of emergency “Residents have no more
food assistance, according Children shelter from the sun in Ankilimarovahatsy, Madagascar, a village in the far south of the resources to allow them to
to the U.N. World Food Pro- island where most children are acutely malnourished, Monday, Nov. 9, 2020. Associated Press face this crisis,” said Theo-
gram. It’s a consequence dore Mbainaissem with
of three straight years of After reports emerged of at Southern Madagascar is on school notebooks — for WFP, who said the extent
drought, along with historic least eight children dying, the brink of a humanitarian food. Some people now of the hunger caught hu-
neglect by the govern- the president of this Indian disaster, the U.N. agency cut down trees to make manitarians and authorities
ment of the remote region Ocean island nation, Andry said, and three out of four charcoal, acknowledging by surprise.
as well as the COVID-19 Rajoelina, visited the region children in the Amboasary that worsens the drought And with COVID-19 and re-
pandemic. and vowed to “win the war district at the epicenter of but saying they have no strictions imposed to slow
Mothers are now trying to against malnutrition.” the crisis have left school to choice if they want to sur- its spread, residents of this
feed their children with Some food has been dis- help their parents find food. vive. One mother, Tohara- hungry region couldn’t go
unripe mangoes, and with tributed, but the WFP said Farmers said they can no no, said four of her 14 chil- elsewhere to find work,
tamarind mixed with clay. it’s not enough and resi- longer cultivate because dren died in June and July. Mbainaissem said. Those
Many children have the dents said the handouts of lack of rain, and they “Who can support not eat- restrictions have now been
spindly legs, reddish hair last just a few days. The WFP have given up cattle farm- ing in the morning, midday lifted.
and pot bellies of malnour- said it has enough supplies ing because of theft. Some and night?” she asked, ex- “For now,” he said, “the
ishment. Tired, they rest to help just a half-million villagers said they have sold hausted by hunger and the only solution is to aid them
under trees and no longer people through the end of their most basic possessions heat. “The children wake by bringing in enough food
play. this year — cooking pots, clothes, in the night, hungry.” The for the months to come.”q

Denmark to end oil, gas extraction in North Sea

try the largest producer in the necessary phase-out of heit). Denmark has been an
the European Union. Non fossil fuels.” early adopter of wind pow-
EU-members Norway and “This is a huge victory for the er, with more than a third
Britain are larger produc- climate movement,” said of its electricity production
ers, with a bigger presence Helene Hagel of Green- deriving from wind turbines.
in the North Sea. peace Denmark. Wealthy They are considered key in
Denmark is this year esti- Denmark has “a moral ob- the transformation of the
mated to pump a bit over ligation to end the search energy system and should
100,000 barrels of crude oil for new oil to send a clear enable Denmark to no lon-
and oil equivalents a day, signal that the world can ger be dependent on fossil
according to the govern- and must act to meet the fuels in 2050 for electricity
ment. Paris Agreement and miti- production.
That is relatively little in a gate the climate crisis.” The agreement to end oil
global context. The U.K. The 2015 landmark Paris cli- and gas extraction means
produces about ten times mate deal asks both rich that a planned eighth li-
In this Oct. 23, 2013, file photo of A.P. Moller-Maersk’s oil rig in that amount while the U.S., and poor countries to take censing round and any
the North Sea named Halfdan. the world’s largest produc- action to curb the rise in future tenders have been
Associated Press er, pumped over 19 million global temperatures that is cancelled and makes 2050
By JAN M. OLSEN saying the country is “now barrels of oil a day last year. melting glaciers, raising sea the last year in which to ex-
Associated Press putting an end to the fossil Environmental activists levels and shifting rainfall tract fossil fuels in the North
COPENHAGEN, Denmark fuel era.” nevertheless said the move patterns. It requires govern- Sea.
(AP) — Denmark has de- The Danish Parliament vot- was significant as it shows ments to present national It was backed by both the
cided to end all oil and gas ed late Thursday to end the way forward in the fight plans to reduce emissions left-leaning parties as well
activities in the North Sea offshore gas and oil extrac- against climate change. to limit global temperature as the center-right opposi-
by 2050 and has cancelled tion, which had started in Greenpeace called it “a rise to well below 2 degrees tion, suggesting the policy
its latest licensing round, 1972 and made the coun- landmark decision toward Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahren- is unlikely to be reversed.q