Madagascar

A community portal about Madagascar with blogs, videos, and photos. According to Wikipedia.org: Madagascar or Malagasy Republic, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, off the southeastern coast of Africa. The main island, also called Madagascar, is the fourth largest island in the world, and is home to five percent of the world's plant and animal species, (more than 80 percent of which are indigenous to Madagascar.) Most notable are the lemur infraorder of primates, the carnivorous fossa, three endemic bird families and six endemic baobab species. The adjective for Madagascar is Malagasy (pronounced "mal-la-gas-ee" or "mal-a-gash"), and the official national language is the Malagasy language.

Write an Article

Join

RSS

Day Sixty-Seven: health and hope in Madagascar

Written by eazibee on

From: reasonstobehopeful.blogspot.com

A really impressive little story today, about how the Madagascan government and its people have 'got it right' in terms of improving public health. For a start, the island nation has the lowest rate of HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa, due in large part to early and significant investment in sex education, condom promotion, HIV testing and targeting of high-risk groups. But it doesn't stop there. The government and its partners have also rolled out comprehensive programmes in malaria, childhood vaccination, nutrition and other services. The result? Child deaths have dropped by around 40% in recent years. It shows what can be done with leadership and commitment, and appropriate and timely external support in the right places. It makes me wonder why I don't hear more about Madagascan healthcare professionals sharing their knowledge with their African neighbours - let's hope that is happening, even if it's done quietly. Meanwhile, if the Madagascans sustain their own efforts, I have no doubt that health indicators will improve further and the country will be recognised as a model for others.

	5 Must Visit Maui Attractions OK, I'd much rather be in Maui than at my cubicle!
	Tallest towers in the world We hope these buildings have elevators.
	Yosemite from Above These views of Yosemite National Park are breathtaking.