“I like to move it! move it!” Lets move to Madagascar!

Madagascar is a name which is well-known from the animation Madagascar where the adventures of the lion and zebra begin. The funny and beautiful scenery in the movie becomes most people’s first impression of this island country, off the coast of south-east Africa. But is that all?

The country is beautiful. However, does anyone notice that it is one of the poorest countries in the world? In 2013, 91% of the country’s 23 million people lived on less than $2 per day (Millennium Development Goal survey 2012–2013).

Yet Madagascar is emerging from a prolonged political crisis accompanied by socio-economic decline, deterioration of social services and exacerbation of household vulnerabilities to shocks (UNICEF, 2015)

Programmes focusing on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), education and child protection have been developing throughout the country. And now I am going on an IWitness trip with UNICEF and my co-workers from IKEA Hong Kong, to explore how the IKEA Foundation and UNICEF’s programmes improve the situation and the everyday life of children and families.