The African Union Commission has carried out a humanitarian assessment and solidarity mission in Madagascar following Cyclone Gezani, and has highlighted shelter, food and health as urgent needs in its wake. The Commission, which carried out its assessment in Toamasina, which is the major city worst hit by the cyclone, has donated US$20,000 worth of food and other items to vulnerable households, as well as US$200,000 from its Humanitarian Gesture Fund to support ongoing relief work. Gezani made landfall in Toamasina, Madagascar’s largest port city, on Tuesday 10th February. Its winds reached 155mph, and devastated the city, as well as...

Mamitiana Rajaonarison has been appointed Madagascar’s new prime minister. Malagasy head of state, Michael Randrianirina announced the appointment a little over a week after dismissing the entire Malagasy government on 9th March. He said that the new government, expected to be announced next week, will have to pass lie detector tests in order to be interviewed by him and Rajaonarison. He said: ‘The Malagasy nation needs bold decisions. We are now at a turning point. This country needs a person of integrity, a person of principle, incorruptible and who cannot be bought with money. ‘We have decided to use a...

Friday 20th March is world frog day, an international initiative designed to raise awareness of frogs and other amphibians. We at MfM are happy to celebrate the frog (and its cousins), including because Madagascar is a vital frog hotspot, containing habitats in which frogs found nowhere else on Earth live and thrive. Madagascar is home to well over 500 species of frogs, of which so far 340 have been listed and described in detail. More than 200 still need to be formally described. Of the 340 species which have been described, more than 200 are endemic to Madagascar. That means...

Hazo tokana tsy mba ala, Ny firaisakina no hery One tree does not make a forest – Together we are stronger Money for Madagascar’s 40th anniversary has begun in style, with our celebration year’s official launch at the Akany Avoko Ambohidratrimo children’s centre. The event, which begins a year of celebrations of our partnerships, and the achievements of MfM, our Malagasy partners and Malagasy men, women and children since our foundation, under the slogan One tree does not make a forest –  Together, we are stronger. The slogan was chosen by our Malagasy partners, to underline the MfM working model,...

Madagascar’s head of state Michael Randrianirina has dismissed the country’s government. A statement delivered on Tuesday 10th March 2026 by the Malagasy presidential office’s director of communication, Harry Laurent Rahajason, said: ‘The government has ceased its functions. The ​President will shortly proceed with the ‌appointment ⁠of a new Prime Minister, following the procedures set out by ​the constitution.’ No explanation has been given for the dismissal. Randrianirina has been Madagascar’s president since October 2025, when as head of the CAPSAT Malagasy army unit, he led the Malagasy military to support nationwide protests against the country’s then PM Andriy Rajoelina. Those...

To celebrate International Women’s Day, we share some success stories of our work with Malagasy women whose innovation and dedication have changed their lives, as well as those of their families and wider societies: this is how we Give to Gain… This year’s International Women’s Day, Sunday 8th March 2026, is being celebrated under the slogan Give to Gain. It’s a chance to celebrate women across the world, and their vast contributions to human progress and achievement, as well as to look at the places and the situations in which women have been and remain marginalised, disenfranchised, deprived of agency...

We at Money for Madagascar wish to pay tribute to the life and work of Justin Claude Rakotoarisoa, an environmentalist whose devoted commitment to his work has almost certainly saved – against the odds – several species of frog unique to Madagascar, and set an example to those who will as a result of his efforts, follow him in the protection and study of Madagascar’s vital wild spaces and species. The environmentalist Justin Claude Rakotoarisoa died aged 45, on Thursday 26th February 2026. He leaves a legacy of devotion to Madagascar’s environment and as a result a treasury of information...

As the impacts of Cyclone Gezani continue to be assessed – and the number of people negatively affected increases – we share an update on the situation, confirm that we are taking part in relief efforts and explain how you can help support Malagasy people. The number of Malagasy people known to have been killed by Cyclone Gezani has risen in the last week from 38 to 62. It is believed many more may have been killed, but have not yet been reached and registered. At least 804 men, women and children are now known to have been injured, an...

MfM, our partners and Malagasy community members have seeded a thousand-tree forest close to the Malagasy capital Antananarivo. Money for Madagascar has revisited a location in which we last year planted 600 trees, to check on progress, and add new trees to the burgeoning forest. To mark the World Week of Harmony with nature, an MfM team on Wednesday (18th February 2026) joined members of our partner organisation Working Together for the Development of Madagascar (WTDM), other partners and community savings groups from Ambohimanambola commune for a reforestation operation in Ambohimahatsinjo in the commune. We had last visited the site...

One week after it struck Eastern Madagascar, Cyclone Gezani is believed to have forced more than 16,000 men, women and children to leave their homes, and affected more than 270,000 people in total. Gezani made landfall in Madagascar’s largest port city, Toamasina, last Tuesday (10th February). It has killed at least 38 people, and injured 374, though both numbers could be considerably higher, as access to the city and its surroundings has been disrupted by the storm. Its winds reached 155 mp/h, and the cyclone has devastated Toamasina, a city of around 500,000 people. It damaged the city and its...

At least 38 people have been killed, and more than 12,000 forced to leave their homes, in one of Madagascar’s strongest cyclones of the last six decades. Cyclone Gezani made landfall in Madagascar on Tuesday (10th February 2026) and struck Toamasina, the largest Malagasy port city, with wind speeds of up to 155mph. Madagascar’s National Office for Risk and Disaster Management (BNGRC) said on Thursday (12th February 2026) that it had recorded 38 deaths. Six people remained missing and at least 374 were injured. As many as 250,000 people are believed to have been affected. More than 18,000 homes were...

We are supporting Malagasy organisations – and Malagasy people like Eric Randrianantoanina – to protect the environment upon which we all rely, and to improve their lives. Meet Eric… Madagascar has some of the world’s most spectacular wilderness. Almost 90 per cent of plant and animal species on the island are found only here, and it contains five per cent of all the world’s species of flora and fauna. But Malagasy people also face severe challenges. Ninety per cent of Madagascar’s people live on or below the global poverty baseline (£2.22 per day), making pressure to clear more land for agriculture...