UNCLASSIFIED

MADAGASCAR

COUNTRY DEVELOPMENT
COOPERATION STRATEGY
(CDCS)

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 – SEPTEMBER 21, 2025

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Photo Credits

Cover Page (clockwise)

Top left ADRA / Livatina Ranarison
Top right USAID Madagascar
Bottom right USAID Madagascar / Bruno Rasamoel
Bottom center Gaby Guerrero Sedan
Bottom left RANO WASH

Main Document
Page 1 ADRA / Livatina Ranarison
Page 8 (Top) Care Madagascar
Page 8 (Bottom) USAID Madagascar / A.G. Klei
Page 14 CARE Madagascar
Page 18 MSH / Samy Rakotoniaina
Page 19 (Top) WSUP
Page 19 (Bottom) USAID Madagascar / A.G. Klei
Page 22 Courtesy of the Office of the President of Madagascar
Page 31 ADRA / Livatina Ranarison
Page 34 ADRA / Livatina Ranarison

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ACRONYMS

AfDB African Development Bank

BHA Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance
BIANCO Independent Anti-Corruption Bureau
BNGRC Central Disaster Management Office
CCHP Community Capacity for Health Project
CCP Conservation and Communities Project
CDC Center for Disease Control
CDCS Country Development Cooperation Strategy
CLA Collaboration, Learning, and Adaptation
CHV Community Health Volunteers
COA Court of Accounts (Supreme Audit Institution)
CSO Civil Society Organization
DA Development Assistance
DFSA Department of Family Health
DO Development Objective
DOAG Development Objective Grant Agreement
DRG Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance
DRM Domestic Resource Mobilization
EGR Early Grade Reading
ENAM National School of Administration of Madagascar
END Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt Wildlife Trafficking Act
ESP Education Sector Plan
EU European Union
FO Front Office
FP Family Planning
GBV Gender-Based Violence
GHP Global Health Program
GIZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit
GOM Government of Madagascar
GPC Global Power Competition
GPE Global Partnership for Education
IEM Initiative Emergence Madagascar
IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development
IPV Intimate Partner Violence
IR Intermediate Result
IRS Indoor Residual Spraying
J2SR Journey to Self-Reliance
JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency
MAEP Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries
MEL Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

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MEN Ministry of National Education

MFI Microfinance Institutions
MICA Ministry of Industry and Commerce
NGO Non-Governmental Organization
NPI New Partnership Initiative
NUP New and Underutilized Partners
OPIC Overseas Private Investment Corporation
PASEC CONFENMEN Program for the Analysis of Educational Systems
PCV Peace Corps Volunteer
PEM Plan Emergence Madagascar
PFM Public Financial Management
PIMS Performance Indicator Management System
PMP Performance Management Plan
PSE Private Sector Engagement
PTF Technical and Financial Partner
SILC Savings and Internal Lending Communities
SLC Structures Locales de Consultation (Commune Consultative Platforms)
SOAG Strategic Objective Agreement
UNDP United Nations Development Program
VSLA Village Savings and Loans Association
WASH Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACRONYMS 2
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1
CDCS GOAL 1
COMMITMENT & CAPACITY 2
STRATEGIC CHOICE 3
RESULTS FRAMEWORK DIAGRAM 5
II. COUNTRY CONTEXT 6
ALIGNMENT WITH COUNTRY PRIORITIES 6
CLEAR CHOICE 7
COUNTRY ROADMAP 7
TRANSITION PLANNING 9
THE U.S. RELATIONSHIP WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF MADAGASCAR 9
USE OF HOST COUNTRY RESOURCES 10
ENGAGING THE PRIVATE SECTOR 10
ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY 11
ALIGNMENT WITH THE COUNTRY ROADMAP 12
EFFORTS OF OTHER UNITED STATES ACTORS 13
IV. RESULTS FRAMEWORK 14
GOAL STATEMENT AND NARRATIVE 14
DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE I 15
DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE II 21
DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE III 27
V. MONITORING, EVALUATION, AND LEARNING 33
III. ANNEXES 36

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I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
CDCS GOAL

Madagascar faces formidable political, social, economic, and environmental challenges that
slow or block progress towards sustainable development and impede its Journey to Self-
Reliance (J2SR). At the same time, the country’s considerable natural resources, unique
biodiversity, and human capital resources from a predominantly young population offer
numerous opportunities for potential economic growth and social progress. Capitalizing on
these inherent strengths, Madagascar’s Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS)
will implement an integrated approach designed to build a strong foundation through the
following Development Objectives (DOs): DO 1) improved human capacity; DO 2) improved
government accountability and effectiveness; and DO 3) greater availability of sustainable
economic opportunities.

With low scores on many subdimensions of the FY2020

Country Roadmap1, strategic and complementary support
across human capacity, governance, and economic
development is critical for Madagascar. Targeted support in
these areas will have long-lasting and far-reaching effects.
The combination of a better educated and healthier
population, a more accountable government, and
communities possessing skills and options that make them more resilient to frequent
shocks will enable Madagascar to make significant strides on the J2SR. Therefore, the goal
for the 2020-2025 CDCS is: “Improved well-being and resilience of the Malagasy people to
drive Madagascar’s Journey to Self-Reliance.”

Given that Madagascar scores well below other low and middle-income countries in sub
dimensions related to Citizen Capacity, Government Capacity, and Capacity of the Economy,
it will not achieve self-reliance over the life of this CDCS. However, the right set of
interventions will lay a strong foundation on which the government can build a long-term
commitment to and capacity for self-reliance.

The lack of a strong foundation in human capacity, governance, and economic development
will pose significant obstacles to Madagascar’s recovery from the impacts of COVID-19.
While the pandemic’s toll is far from clear, the Government of Madagascar (GOM) predicts
economic growth of 1.4 percent in 2020 as compared to 5.3 percent prior to the outbreak.
Beyond economic setbacks due primarily to unemployment and lost revenue from exports
and tourism, adverse health impacts and strong indications of increased wildlife trafficking
have occurred as people look for ways to make up for lost income. Moreover, COVID-19

1
USAID assesses a country's self-reliance through two lenses: commitment and capacity . Using 17 publicly
available, third-party metrics, USAID's Country Roadmaps are the Agency's standardized analytical tool to
objectively measure and visualize these two concepts.
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has the potential to exacerbate pre-existing gender inequalities related to health,

education, gender-based violence, child marriage, and resilience in Madagascar.

COMMITMENT & CAPACITY

The Government of Madagascar’s (GOM) Plan Émergence Madagascar (PEM) is the de

facto national development plan for the period 2019-2023. The PEM identifies good
governance as a linchpin, with four foundations encompassing human capital development,
inclusive and sustainable economic growth, and sustainable natural resource management
along with access to water and electricity as the keys to development. Though GOM
statements indicate an intention to make advances in these areas, Madagascar’s FY2020
Country Roadmap shows low Citizen Capacity, with rankings well below the median for low
and medium-income countries for the poverty rate, child health, and education quality.
One of the world’s poorest countries, Malagasy people face many obstacles to accessing
financial capital, and the country relies significantly on resources from bilateral donors and
multilateral institutions to support basic social services like health and education.

While the country has made significant progress on reducing child deaths, maternal
mortality has stagnated over the past 20 years, resulting in 10 women dying from birth-
related causes each day. Nearly 1.8 million children under five (47 percent) suffer from
chronic malnutrition and each day 100 children die from preventable causes, including
malaria. USAID investments in family planning (FP), maternal, neonatal and child health
(MCH), nutrition, malaria, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) are designed to
directly address these challenges.

Plagued with low completion rates, high levels of repetition, low levels of attainment in
reading and math, and poor teacher quality, education in Madagascar is in a dire state.
Other than a small but effective pilot activity in 2018, USAID has not worked in the
education sector since 2009. The GOM and Ministry of National Education (MEN) are asking
for USAID assistance for high-quality technical assistance for foundational skills
development. This support is particularly important for the ability of women and youth to
become self-reliant as a high level of education is the strongest indicator for Malagasy
youth to transition into a stable job.2 Based on the Country Roadmap low Education Quality
indicator (0.18) and the great potential of targeted interventions in foundational skills,
USAID will forge impactful partnerships with the GOM and other donors to improve
education trajectories for Madagascar's most marginalized children in the early grades.

Even with improvements in health and education, Madagascar cannot finance its own self-
reliance without significant improvements in governance and economic policy. The USAID
Democracy, Human Rights and Governance (DRG) Assessment of Madagascar (2015)

2
UN Women. The State of Women’s Economic Empowerment in the Indian Ocean, 2015,
[Link]

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identified a systemic lack of political accountability as the core driver of chronic political and
economic problems. Though central to the PEM, the governance deficit remains extensive
as Madagascar ranks low in government and tax system effectiveness and is just below
average in both subdimensions related to open and accountable governance. In alignment
with both the PEM and the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Mission will
pursue a range of activities addressing governance, including government accountability,
decentralization of government functions, and enhancing the business enabling
environment.

STRATEGIC CHOICE

Informed by over 30 years of experience in Madagascar and largely influenced by the

country’s needs, GOM priorities, and in coordination with international donors and key local
stakeholders, the CDCS will provide a strong foundation for Madagascar to advance on its
J2SR. As Madagascar’s leading bilateral donor in health, USAID will continue its focus on the
prevention and treatment of malaria; improving maternal, child, and infant health;
prevention of sexually transmitted infections and diseases; and increasing the availability of
FP and reproductive health services. The Mission will further redefine the relationship with
the GOM, moving towards increased GOM responsibility for establishing stronger and more
sustainable governance, management, and leadership of national systems for health and
WASH. USAID will work closely with the GOM to increase its capacity to manage health
programs, redefining the technical assistance relationship in favor of targeted Government-
to-Government support to achieve health outcomes. In addition, the Mission will negotiate
matching contributions from the GOM for key health commodities.

The Mission will have a strategic and holistic focus on human capacity. The bulk of past
funding and services in this area were devoted to health, with some funds for crisis
prevention. This CDCS will continue emphasizing health while growing the portfolio to
improve basic outcomes in education and reduce the population’s vulnerability to shocks.

In recent years, the Mission’s work on governance was always a component of projects in
other sectors, particularly health and environment. The only pure governance funding was
for the 2018-2019 national elections. In this CDCS, the Mission is moving into the
governance sector directly, working with new partners such as the Court of Accounts to
address governance needs cross-sectorally. Further, governance work is an opportunity to
redefine the relationship with the GOM to increase accountability, cultivate the
commitment to enforcing rule of law, and improve the environment for doing business.

As a Tier 1 Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt (END) Wildlife Trafficking Act country of
concern, USAID has supported the protection of Madagascar’s natural capital through
improved conservation of the unique biodiversity, promotion of resilient livelihoods to
provide alternatives to unsustainable natural resource management practices, and concrete
actions to secure effective local management and ownership of natural resources. USAID
will work with the GOM to build on existing achievements and increase our engagement

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with the private sector to achieve greater sustainable development. The aim is to improve
enterprise-driven development and implement market-based solutions to create jobs and
increase wealth. This goal is especially important for Malagasy youth and women who are
active entrepreneurs in Madagascar but require increased access to finance, credit, training,
and coaching. Instituting reforms, redefining the relationship with the Ministry of
Environment and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and building partnerships with
the private sector are important efforts to support.

Across the DOs the Mission will work to address gender equality and gender issues that are
critical to the country’s J2SR. Within DO 1, the Mission will promote healthy and gender-
equitable behaviors and social norms to reduce threats such as maternal, newborn, and
child morbidity, child early forced marriage (CEFM), gender-based violence (GBV), time
poverty, and limited decision making ability among women. Activities related to DO 2 will
strengthen the GOM’s ability to respond to the needs of citizens, including women, by
addressing rule of law, particularly ensuring equal access to justice for women for issues
such as land-tenure rights and labor laws. DO 3 will focus on creating economic
opportunities for women within the agricultural and environmental sectors. The Mission
will increase access to financing and better integrate women into the agricultural value
chain. Collectively, these activities will improve the human and economic capacity of
women, positively impacting the communities and nation as a whole.

Recently upgraded to Tier 2 in the U.S. Embassy Trafficking in Persons report, the GOM is
making significant progress towards the elimination of trafficking by investigating and
prosecuting more suspected traffickers and providing care, assistance, and repatriations to
more victims. Also, it has operationalized a new anti-corruption court whose mandate
includes human trafficking cases. Through this CDCS, the Mission will work to improve
governance, with an emphasis on improving the GOM’s commitment to rule of law and
supporting the GOM in establishing foundational conditions for improved responsiveness to
citizens. Strengthening these areas will further support the nation in combating human
trafficking.

According to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Madagascar does not
qualify as a Tier 1 or Tier 2 country of concern. Madagascar’s constitution provides for
freedom of religious thought and expression and prohibits religious discrimination in the
workplace. Other laws protect individual religious freedom against abuses by government
or private actors. The US Embassy works with the Ministry of Interior and Decentralization
to ensure that there is a high level of societal respect, as demonstrated by laws and
practices, for religious freedom

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RESULTS FRAMEWORK DIAGRAM

Improved well-being and resilience of the Malagasy people

to drive Madagascar’s Journey to Self-Reliance.

DO 1 Improved Human Capacity to Contribute to the DO 2 Government Accountability and Effectiveness DO 3 More Sustainable Economic Opportunities are
Country’s Journey to Self-Reliance Improved in Order to Mitigate Cyclical Political Available for Poor Populations
Instability

IR 1.1 Sustainable Health Impacts Accelerated IR 2.1 GOM demonstrates increased IR 3.1 Natural Resources Sustainably Managed
• Sub-IR 1.1.1 Health and care-seeking behaviors commitment to enforcing rule of law
and social norms adopted • Sub-IR 2.1.1 Civil and business courts are • Sub-IR 3.1.1 High biodiversity areas conserved
better able to fairly render justice •
• Sub-IR 1.1.2 Availability of and accessibility to a Sub-IR 3.1.2 Environmental governance
continuum of quality health, nutrition and WASH • Sub-IR 2.1.2 Government capacity to fight reinforced
services increased corruption strengthened
• Sub-IR 3.1.3 Conservation finance mechanisms
• Sub-IR 1.1.3 Resources for health and WASH expanded
mobilized and optimized
• Sub-IR 3.1.4 Climate change adaptation and
• Sub-IR 1.1.4 Governance, management, and mitigation strategies implemented
leadership for health and WASH strengthened

IR 1.2 Basic Education Outcomes Improved IR 2.2 Increased GOM access to and effective IR 3.2 Improved Enabling Environment for
• Sub-IR 1.2.1 Use of data for decision making management of financial resources for Private Sector
improved development
• Sub-IR 2.2.1 Domestic resource mobilization at • Sub-IR 3.2.1 Trade facilitation improved
• Sub-IR 1.2.2 Quality of pre-service teacher the commune level increased in selected
professional development improved regions • Sub-IR 3.2.2 Access to financing increased

• Sub-IR 1.2.3 Early grade reading and literacy • Sub-IR 2.2.2 Improved budget development and • Sub-IR 3.2.3 Access to electricity increased
improved execution, including absorption, in selected
• Sub-IR 3.2.4 Secured access to land
Ministries
• Sub-IR 2.2.3 Audit of public resource use at
national and sub-national levels improved

IR 2.3 GOM establishes foundational conditions IR 3.3 Capacity of Economic Actors Along Value
IR 1.3 Vulnerability to Shocks Reduced
for improved responsiveness to citizens Chain Improved
• Sub-IR 1.3.1 Improved government capacity to
manage emergencies • Sub-IR 2.3.1 Capacity gaps of key government • Sub-IR 3.3.1 Improved access to markets
• Sub-IR 1.3.2 Individual and community personnel reduced
preparedness to mitigate impact of shocks • Sub-IR 3.3.2 Agricultural productivity increased
increased • Sub-IR 2.3.2 GOM provides underrepresented
citizens with the skills and platforms to • Sub-IR 3.3.3 Business development improved
• Sub-IR 1.3.3 Livelihoods diversified participate in local decision-making
• Sub-IR 3.3.4 Functional literacy outcomes for
adults and youth increased

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I. COUNTRY CONTEXT
Madagascar is one of the most exceptional places on Earth; at least 80% of the plant and
animal species found in Madagascar are unique to this vast island. Despite the potential for
Madagascar’s diverse ecosystem, unique wildlife, and extensive mineral resources to propel its
development, it is the world’s poorest non-conflict country. An estimated 75% of its people live
on less than $1.90 per day; 80% of the population earns its livelihood from subsistence
agriculture; and it is the only country where GDP growth has declined since independence
(1960) without the occurrence of a war. Madagascar’s extreme poverty is reflected in a low
rankings for Citizen Capacity and associated with a low ranking on Government Capacity in the
Country Roadmap.

The number of people living in poverty in Madagascar is expected to increase dramatically as a

result of COVID-19. The World Bank projects that the number of extreme poor in the poorest
countries it serves will increase by 17 million, with a deeper and longer lasting impact for the
poor as well. More than two-thirds of Madagascar’s population is self-employed or informally
employed and works in agriculture and service sectors. Strict confinement measures such as
the reduction of public transportation, limited hours for stores and markets, and the imposition
of curfews have resulted in limited opportunity for those working in the informal sector to
make up lost income. Since poor families have inadequate safety nets such as limited savings
and lack of access to insurance, many must sell productive assets or exploit natural resources as
a coping strategy which leads to long-lasting negative effects. Furthermore, the GOM’s ability
to provide income support to families in need is limited.

Women in general, and poor women in particular, will be disproportionately impacted as

women-owned firms (which primarily operate in informal or low-paying sectors) commonly lack
basic protection against economic shocks. Also, women have less access to productive inputs,
fewer liquid assets, and lower farm productivity resulting in weaker food security. In addition,
school closings and health service interruptions may disproportionately affect adolescent girls’
ability to complete their education and seek employment. These factors, paired with stay at
home measures, have triggered increases in reported cases of GBV including sexual
exploitation, CEFM, and intimate partner violence (IPV).

ALIGNMENT WITH COUNTRY PRIORITIES

In Madagascar’s newly developed national plan, the PEM, the GOM places renewed emphasis
on improved human capacity (including education, health, employment, infrastructure, and
sports); good governance; inclusive and sustainable economic growth; and the potential to
transform Madagascar into a “Green Island.” With its focus on human capacity, good
governance, and economic growth, particularly in the areas of agriculture and ecotourism, the
CDCS largely overlaps with the GOM’s strategic priorities.

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Reforms in governance are a linchpin of the PEM. They target three core areas (security, anti-
corruption, and decentralization) and address eight priorities. The Mission will support three of
the eight priorities, including: the guarantee of equitable justice and rule of law (IR 2.1),
improvements in responsible governance and public finance (IR 2.2), and strengthening citizen
participation (IR 2.3). Collectively, these improvements will work to raise the GOM’s
effectiveness and efficiency resulting in renewed domestic and foreign trust in the government.

Recognizing women and youth as a critical component of the country’s ability to meet
development objectives, the PEM addresses the need for greater female empowerment and
child protection. Specifically, the GOM seeks to facilitate gender equality and the
empowerment of women and girls by eliminating GBV and other harmful practices. The
Mission’s work in health and family planning, education, disaster resistance, governance, and in
economic development will assist the GOM in reaching this goal by raising awareness of the
issues facing women; working to change policies and laws which negatively impact women; and
arming women and men with the tools they need to become productive and active citizens.

CLEAR CHOICE

Diplomatic relations between China and Madagascar date back to 1972 and have included
cooperation in the fields of politics, economics, education, health, culture, and sports. The
Chinese have built infrastructure projects in Madagascar including a primary national road, the
Mahamasina National Palace of Culture and Sports, the Ivato International Conference Center,
as well as a number of schools and hospitals. China recognizes itself as Madagascar’s first
trading partner, first supplier of imports, and fourth largest recipient of exports. In 2018, the
volume of trade reached $1.21 billion, an increase of more than 100 times since the
establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

While China has increased investments in Madagascar, their business practices and foreign
assistance have lacked transparency and are often associated with the unsustainable use of
Madagascar’s natural resources. Chinese investments have involved or directly provoked
environmentally destructive exploitation of marine resources and mineral wealth, child
exploitation in mining for mica, and the illegal trafficking of hardwoods and animal products
such as endangered tortoises. The economic gains these practices generate (mainly for the
Chinese) are heavily outweighed by their deleterious effects on human capacity and natural
resources, pushing Madagascar farther from self-reliance. USAID will make and catalyze
transparent and inclusive investments in natural resource management, improved public
accountability, and a more level playing field for investment and doing business. The aim is to
redefine our relationship with the government in such a way that the GOM not only prefers,
but eventually requires, partnerships that propel the country towards self-reliance. This effort
will lead Madagascar away from models that promote dependency and fail to build the human
capacity and systems needed to reduce reliance on foreign assistance.
COUNTRY ROADMAP

Citizen Capacity. Economic growth and progress towards self-reliance is impossible without
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improvements in health, basic education, sustainable use of natural resources, and political
stability. A healthy and well-educated population will foster increased economic opportunities
and productivity. Greater economic activity will generate more revenues for investments in
the social sectors (and other sectors) that will further contribute to a healthier and better
educated population. Based on the Citizen Capacity measures on the Country Roadmap, the
CDCS will directly address serious deficits in health and education as well as the country’s high
vulnerability to recurrent shocks3, targeting the most marginalized, most vulnerable, and least
resilient people (DO 1). USAID will support Madagascar’s health system to sustain and
advance previous gains in health outcomes, including decreases in under-five mortality and
increased contraceptive prevalence rates.

Moreover, strategic analysis reveals that targeted programming in

basic education is essential for addressing the country’s citizen capacity
deficits. Requested support for investments in basic education will be
used to expand the use of proven early literacy instructional
techniques by leveraging other donor dollars in the sector (i.e. World
Bank, Global Partnership for Education). USAID will also promote
government capacity to manage emergencies and the preparedness of - Only 15% of households
individuals and communities to mitigate the impact of recurrent shocks have electricity
(DO 1 and DO 2). Government emergency social safety nets can be an
- More than 58% of people
important mechanism for ensuring women and marginalized persons lack access to safe drinking
have greater resilience to natural disasters, climate change, and other water
shocks. - Only 10% of the
population uses basic
Although Madagascar’s scores for social group equality and economic sanitation facilities
equality on the Country Roadmap are above the average for low and
- Only 1 out of every 3
middle-income countries, significant challenges remain. The children completes primary
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) education
2019 Social Institutions and Development Index (SIGI) ranks
Madagascar as high for institutional gender-based discrimination. The
index also highlights legal discrimination and traditional cultural
practices that disadvantage women and girls. The Mission’s work
across DOs will support women’s rights and equality in areas of human
capacity, governance, and economic development.

Madagascar is already experiencing significant impacts from COVID-19

on health, education, natural resources, and the population’s overall resilience. The United
States provided $2.5 million in new funding to help Madagascar fight COVID-19, and USAID
redirected approximately $4 million of MCH, FP, and Development Assistance (DA) Water
funding to be used for COVID-19. Funds are strengthening government community
surveillance systems, health communications, case management and laboratory services.
Existing conservation activities have redirected resources to increased surveillance and

3
In the context of Madagascar, the term “shocks” includes economic, social, environmental and health shocks.
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patrolling as there has been a marked uptick of environmental crimes during the pandemic.

Open and Accountable Governance and Government Capacity. Responsive, accountable, and
capable government institutions are crucial for sustaining improvements in the basic social
and economic conditions Madagascar needs to move out of its cycle of poverty. Governance
underpins the enabling environment for making progress in other areas of the strategy, for
which effective public financial management and domestic resource mobilization are essential.
The CDCS will address this primarily through DO 1 and DO 2, with an emphasis on enhancing
government accountability institutions, effective systems of administration, rule of law, access
to quality public services, and responsible management of financial resources.

Economic Policy. Escaping Madagascar’s poverty trap requires simultaneously ensuring

protection of the natural resource base, focusing on agricultural productivity as a primary driver
of growth, and catalyzing the enabling conditions for private sector investment. After decades
of political instability, the GOM now faces the challenge of implementing confidence-building
reforms. Moreover, while the GOM has strongly emphasized its commitment to promoting
private sector-led growth, rent-seeking behaviors are deeply ingrained in all major economic
sectors. The Mission remains realistic but optimistic that focusing on economic policy while
fostering an open and fair business climate and addressing the drivers of threats to biodiversity
will lay a foundation for sustainable economic development. In particular, the strategy will
target high growth sectors (agriculture and ecotourism) (DO 3), as well as anti-corruption
measures (DO 2).

TRANSITION PLANNING

With a GDP per capita of $1,678 and many development challenges, Madagascar will not
become self-reliant within the timeframe of this CDCS. However, the CDCS will work to set a
foundation which includes improved human capacity, good governance, and increased
economic opportunity within the most promising growth sectors. Improvements in these areas
will contribute to a healthier and better educated population, a more accountable government,
and more resilient communities. These will in turn catalyze greater and more inclusive
economic activity that Madagascar requires to finance further investments to address its
development challenges and lessen its heavy reliance on donor funding.

III. STRATEGIC APPROACH

THE U.S. RELATIONSHIP WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF MADAGASCAR

Since the United States and Madagascar established diplomatic relations in 1960, intermittent
periods of political unrest have led to tensions in the partnership. A political coup in 1975
strained relations between the two countries as the new president expelled the U.S.
Ambassador. In the early 1980s the United States re-established a positive relationship with
Madagascar, and by 1990, the country was designated a priority aid recipient. Since 1983,
USAID has provided more than $1.5 billion in development support. While initial assistance
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prioritized investment in the rice sector to increase agricultural production and emergency food
aid, in the 1990’s USAID shifted focus to include biodiversity and environmental conservation.

In 2009, a military coup led the United States and other international donors to suspend direct
assistance to or through Madagascar’s government. The U.S. Government (USG) also reduced
the USAID Madagascar Mission to a Country Office. However, USAID continued to provide life-
saving humanitarian assistance in the health and food security sectors at the community level.

In 2013 the United States supported international efforts to ensure a free and fair electoral
process. The inauguration of the new president in 2014 resulted in the lifting of sanctions,
restoring the United States as one of Madagascar’s largest bi-lateral donors. In December
2016, Madagascar returned to full USAID Mission status. In 2018, USAID awarded a $1.2 million
grant to support free, fair, transparent, and inclusive presidential elections. Andry Rajoelina
was elected President in January 2019 and has promoted an aggressive national plan and
worked collaboratively with international partners to address the country’s most pressing
needs. USAID continues to partner with the GOM to protect Madagascar’s unique biodiversity,
support better governance, increase access to basic education, improve women and children’s
health and education, women's economic empowerment, improve access to basic health care
and FP services, reduce food insecurity, address GBV, and strengthen resilience to disasters and
major shocks.

USE OF HOST COUNTRY RESOURCES

Each of the Mission’s strategic objective agreements (SOAGs) with the GOM includes Host
Country Contribution provisions, requiring the GOM to provide financial or in-kind resources for
program implementation. The Mission waived this requirement beginning in 2009 but will
reconsider how the GOM can resume Host Country Contributions as part of a new
Development Objective Grant Agreement (DOAG) to govern USAID foreign assistance to
Madagascar. The DOAG will establish a list of required GOM investments and commitments
used as conditions precedent to USAID obligations. It will include provisions which incentivize
increased GOM commitment to areas such as sufficient resource allocations to finance the
operating costs of health systems (DO 1), establishing protected areas (DO 3), and disaster
preparedness and response systems (DO 1). Under DO 2, USAID will support domestic resource
mobilization efforts and more efficient use of existing resources.

The Mission will redefine its relationship with the government, whereby the GOM takes greater
ownership of Madagascar’s development agenda. CDCS strategic priorities are well-aligned
with the PEM and designed to enable the GOM to utilize its existing resources more effectively
and to establish additional resource streams for investments in the foundational needs for the
country’s J2SR.

ENGAGING THE PRIVATE SECTOR

The private sector’s financial resources and focus on market-driven economic growth are
essential to Madagascar’s ability to finance its J2SR. The 2020 Doing Business Report lists
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various obstacles to expanding the private sector in Madagascar including political instability,
lack of capital, limited access to financing, incoherent policies, limited purchasing power, high
cost of imports, and a largely unskilled workforce. Fortunately, one of Madagascar’s greatest
challenges, engaging the private sector, is also one of USAID’s comparative advantages. USAID
is one of the few partners working with the private sector to improve health outcomes and
natural resource management.

The Mission will implement public-private partnerships across sectors to improve efficiency,
boost profitability, go to scale, and increase sustainability, all of which will help reduce the
country’s dependence on foreign assistance. Within DO 1, increased private sector
engagement (PSE) will provide vital complementary products and services and help improve
access to healthcare (IR 1.1). The Mission will work with the GOM and private sector partners
to promote WASH access and increase access to markets and incomes from agriculture and off-
farm activities. USAID will promote the management of water and sanitation facilities by
private sector players to ensure better and continued access to services for communities.

With nearly 31 percent of the population between the ages of 25-54, and 80% of rural women
employed in agriculture, there is a large labor force that could advance the country’s
development. Through New and Underutilized Partnerships (NUPS), DO 3 will engage the
private sector to create formal employment and training opportunities, particularly for rural
women and youth, in agriculture and ecotourism (IR 3.2). For example, USAID, in partnership
with McCormick Spices, created the Sustainable Vanilla for People and Nature activity to
conserve biodiversity, avoid deforestation, and improve farmer livelihoods through sustainable
vanilla production (IR 3.3).

Engaging the private sector with a focus on gender equality has strong potential to spur greater
gender equity and increased female leadership in the agricultural, environmental, and tourism
sectors. One out of three private sector workers in Madagascar is a woman, and women
represent 9% of managers in large firms, 28% in medium firms, and 33% in small firms.4
Moreover, companies with women in top positions have greater labor productivity and more
annual growth in employment and labor.5

ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY

USAID, alongside other international donors, has helped steer the development of a strong,
independent, and apolitical civil society in Madagascar. Civil society organizations (CSOs) are
making notable contributions such as matrimonial laws, women’s entrepreneurship, GBV, and
access to credit adapted to the needs of women who are illiterate, without land tenure, or have

4
World Bank Group, Enterprise Surveys - Madagascar, 2013.
5
World Bank. Madagascar Country Economic Memorandum: Maximizing the Upturn to Foster a More Resilient Economy,
accessed June 22, 2020, [Link]
economique-de-madagascar-comment-profiter-de-lembellie-pour-favoriser-une-economie-plus-resiliente.

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no collateral. However, the lack of sustainable funding, limited female leadership, and overall
fragmentation of CSOs pose challenges. Moreover, few CSOs focus on improving governance in
Madagascar. This dearth of effective CSOs and other nongovernmental actors impedes greater
participation and accountable governance. Since CSOs are often key to holding governments
accountable, the Mission will strengthen national and local CSOs in selected districts and
communes in geographic areas where the Mission implements other technical sector programs.

CSOs are critical to achieving CDCS objectives. They create pressure

for transparency and greater accountability and play a key advocacy
role for women who make up 85% of their membership. In health,
the Mission has worked extensively with CSOs to support
community-based service delivery via community health volunteers
(CHVs). The Mission will continue to partner with CSOs to increase
the GOM’s capacity to deliver quality health services to its most
underserved populations (IR 1.1). Journalists and national-level
CSOs will be systematically engaged by the Court of Accounts to
more effectively utilize the results of audits to raise public awareness on how funds are used
and advocate for effective use of public resources under IR 2.2. Activities under IR 2.3 will also
expand citizen civic participation by setting up and strengthening commune-level platforms for
citizen and CSO engagement with local government. Under IR 3.1, the Mission will build the
capacity of environmental CSOs to enhance the effectiveness of their advocacy interventions to
create greater accountability for natural resource management. Similarly, under IR 3.3, USAID
will support the establishment and professionalization of farmer associations, agricultural
cooperatives, and other rural CSOs to increase profitability and linkages with the private sector,
while also strengthening their ability to advocate to their local governments.

ALIGNMENT WITH THE COUNTRY ROADMAP

Madagascar’s Country Roadmap highlights low Citizen Capacity scores across all three
contributing indicators, demonstrated by the country’s severely under-developed and under-
leveraged human resources. To address this problem, USAID will work with the GOM to: 1)
accelerate the positive impacts of healthy behaviors, access to services, resource
mobilization, and health services governance and management (IR 1.1); 2) improve early
grade reading and literacy outcomes (IR 1.2); and 3) improve the capacity of government,
communities, and individuals to manage emergencies and mitigate the impact of shocks (IR
1.3). USAID will pursue targeted opportunities in partnership with other donors to help
promote the quality, coverage, and equity of health, education, and social protection
services, which will contribute to reducing poverty and building human capacity.

Accountable and capable government institutions are crucial for improving social and
economic conditions in Madagascar. A root cause of the country’s underdevelopment is a
history of recurrent political crises sparked by public frustration with the government’s failure
to provide effective economic development and adequate social services, accompanied by a
lack of transparency or responsiveness to citizen concerns. Public mistrust in and
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disengagement from national life is reflected in the Country Roadmap, which shows average
levels of government commitment but very weak government capacity. USAID will
strengthen the rule of law by enhancing the efficiency of non-criminal courts (IR 2.1). In
addition, the Mission will build the capacity of targeted government ministries and
communes to improve domestic resource mobilization and the management of public funds
(IR 2.2), as well as foster greater civic engagement between civil servants and citizens (IR 2.3).

With some of the world’s most unique biodiversity, Madagascar’s tremendous natural potential
is under threat. Low scores in Biodiversity and Habitat Protection on the Country Roadmap
indicate the clear need for better natural resource management and improved sustainable
development. The Mission’s focus on natural resource governance and improved protected
area management and livelihoods addresses these gaps through activities that conserve high
biodiversity areas, expand conservation finance mechanisms, and implement climate change
adaptation and mitigation strategies (IR 3.1).

According to the Country Roadmap, Madagascar also ranks low in GDP Per Capita. The
agriculture sector, which accounts for 24 percent of Madagascar’s GDP, is the backbone of the
country’s economy. However, due to low investment, poor yields and changing climatic
conditions, the sector has never reached its full potential. In partnership with the GOM and
CSOs, and through the establishment of NUPs and PSE, the Mission will improve the enabling
environment (IR 3.2) and the capacity of economic actors along the value chain (IR 3.3).

In the 2020 Doing Business Report, Madagascar ranked 140 out of 190 economies in efficiency
at trading across borders. Low scores in Export Sophistication on the Roadmap highlight issues
with trade cited as one of the greatest deterrents for private sector companies considering
Madagascar. USAID will work with the Director General of Customs and other donors to
provide equipment and technical assistance, resulting in a more sophisticated system that will
allow customs officials to more easily monitor imports and exports, ultimately reducing the cost
and time to export. Clear and digitized records will further work to create an enabling
environment for the private sector and reduce the possibility of corruption (IR 3.2).

EFFORTS OF OTHER UNITED STATES ACTORS

The Mission will continue its fruitful collaboration with other U.S. government agencies to
advance CDCS priorities. Peace Corps has partnered closely with USAID, often through small
grants from USAID where Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) and USAID goals align. More than
1,500 volunteers have worked with their communities on projects in agriculture (IR 3.1), health
(IR 1.1), and education (IR 1.2).

Dating back to 2008, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has assigned a
resident Malaria advisor to Madagascar. As part of the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), CDC
has supported the implementation of malaria prevention and control activities. In addition,
CDC has worked with the Mission to strengthen other infectious and vaccine preventable
disease programs in the country (IR 1.1).

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The Department of State will remain a strong partner. For PSE, the Embassy’s Deal Team
structure stimulates a cohesive interagency approach to enhancing investment opportunities
and the business enabling environment in sectors prioritized by the CDCS such as agriculture
and eco-tourism (IR 3.2). The State-USAID partnership will also be important for CDCS
governance goals, particularly providing high-level diplomatic support for adherence to the rule
of law and accountability to the public (IR 2.1). At the intersection of governance, protecting
Madagascar’s rich biodiversity, and reducing the influence of malign actors, interagency
collaboration to combat wildlife trafficking will advance the CDCS goals of sustainable natural
resource management and a greater commitment to enforcing the rule of law (IR 3.1). This
cooperation is especially critical as Madagascar remains a focus country and a country of
concern under the END Wildlife Trafficking Act.

IV. RESULTS FRAMEWORK

GOAL STATEMENT AND NARRATIVE

Madagascar currently has a rare window of opportunity to improve the foundational

conditions for self-reliance that have thwarted human development, perpetuated a cycle of
poverty, and heavily depleted natural resources. After decades of cyclical political instability
that undermined national development, peaceful elections in 2014 and 2019 have ushered in a
more stable political environment. When combined with the apparently progressive approach
of President Rajoelina’s administration, which seeks inter alia to combat corruption, promote
private sector growth, and implement social reforms, this progress has served to boost
international confidence and investment. USAID is well positioned to capitalize on this
momentum and build on its earlier investments to address foundational conditions for self-
reliance. USAID’s goal for the 2020-2025 CDCS is: “Improved well-being and resilience of the
Malagasy people to drive Madagascar’s Journey to Self-Reliance.” Our existing relationships,
technical expertise, and convening power put us in a strong position to partner with the GOM,
the private sector, CSOs, and other donors to achieve this objective.

The Mission will address clear deficits demonstrated by the Country Roadmap in citizen and
government capacity as well as limitations in the GOM commitment to open and accountable
governance and effective economic policy. In response to these deficits and focusing on the
primary development challenges needed to achieve self-reliance, USAID will deepen the
bilateral relationship in ways that were not possible until recently. In coordination with the
United States interagency, the Mission will strengthen the GOM's ability to finance self-reliance
through improved public financial management (PFM) and mobilization of local resources for
development, to include the private sector. USAID will also foster favorable conditions for
private sector-led growth and broader participation in targeted areas of the economy. USAID
will engage women across sectors and at all levels of society to improve gender equality,
enhance the agency of women and girls, and reduce harmful social norms and practices.

A well-educated and healthy population, good governance of financial and natural resources,
and sustained economic development are foundational elements of a “virtuous cycle" of

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progress on the path to self-reliance. Progress on any one of these objectives in isolation is not
enough. In Madagascar, low human capital is a critical limiting factor to growth, citizen
engagement, and stability. With this understanding, the Mission has made strategic choices to
selectively support targeted, catalytic opportunities within these areas for promoting the J2SR.

DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE I: IMPROVED HUMAN CAPACITY TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE

COUNTRY’S JOURNEY TO SELF-RELIANCE

Development Hypothesis Statement: IF USAID investments catalyze a data-driven combination

of discrete, targeted, direct service delivery and system-strengthening interventions in critical
sectors, THEN measures of health, educational achievement, and citizen resilience will improve
in quantifiable ways.

Development Hypothesis Narrative: Madagascar’s human resources are under-developed and

under-leveraged due to the population’s low access to high-quality health, education, and
social protection and disaster response services. Human capacity building is the process by
which individuals, communities, groups, organizations, institutions, and societies develop their
abilities—both individually and collectively—to set and achieve objectives, perform functions,
solve problems, and develop the means and conditions required to enable this process. High
levels of poverty and poor outcomes in health and education leave citizens ill-equipped to
participate in civic and economic activities or respond to unexpected shocks. Under this DO,
USAID will advance three interrelated components addressing individual and institutional needs
that together will lead to healthier, better educated, and more resilient citizens.

HOST GOVERNMENT PRIORITIES

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Madagascar’s national plan includes a focus on improved human capacity which encompasses
the areas of health, education, and disaster risk management. Within health, the GOM has
committed to ensuring basic quality health services for all and reinforcing FP. The PEM gives
specific attention to gender as it addresses the promotion of women’s rights, combating GBV,
and enhancing women’s access to FP to advance their health. Both the GOM and the Mission
call for increased availability of and access to a continuum of quality health, nutrition and
WASH services as well as strengthened governance, management, and
leadership in the sector. USAID also seeks to ensure that members According to the 2019
from vulnerable populations, who were previously absent from the Public Expenditure
health sector, secure access to quality health services, including people Budget, the GOM
living with physical and mental disabilities, and those who identify as allocated less than 30%
of the national budget on
LGBTI. citizen capacity
expenditures:
In education, the MEN has worked with partners to realize the
objectives of the Education Sector Plan (ESP) including school - 7.2% allocated to
construction, establishment and dissemination of an updated public health
curriculum, improved teacher training, and strengthened school
leadership all with the goal of improving educational outcomes for - 15% allocated to
students. While gender parity exists in enrollment and completion at national education
the primary level, for girls, the GOM is demonstrating leadership to
overcome barriers and rapidly improve access to quality education in - 1.8% allocated to
alignment with the ESP. improvements in
water, sanitation,
By contrast, the GOM’s commitment to disaster risk reduction is and hygiene
unclear. Annual funding for the national disaster management agency is
chronically inadequate. Disaster risk management, monitoring, and response are heavily donor
dependent, pushing the majority of the responsibility for resilience building onto individuals
and communities. The Mission is focusing the majority of its interventions at the community
level, strengthening resilience through such interventions as household livelihood
diversification, the community construction of resilience-strengthening assets, the promotion
of community savings and lending groups, capacity building for village disaster risk
management committees, and coordinating officials at the local level. These efforts are
complemented by focused technical assistance to build the capacity of the national disaster
management agency (BNGRC).

KEY PARTNERSHIPS

The largest donor in the health sector, USAID has been a leader in promoting community-based
health systems which have provided healthcare to about 64 percent of the rural population.
USAID engages robustly in donor coordination through participation in the Technical and
Financial Partners group (PTF), a donor and technical partner coordination group chaired by the
World Health Organization. Through the PTF, USAID makes strategic decisions regarding
geographic location and program design, thereby broadening donor reach.

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The active PTF for the education sector has aligned donor messaging and actions to advocate
for policy changes. In 2018, in response to the GOM’s new education sector strategy, USAID
invested $1 million to design and pilot early grade reading (EGR) materials in Malagasy for
students in grade one. The World Bank provided $3 million in additional funding to scale up the
pilot and undertake an external evaluation. This collaboration enabled the development of
reliable evidence that spurred the GOM to take a data-driven decision to adopt, expand, and
scale up the USAID piloted approach as the national approach to reading instruction in early
grades.

Finally, while there is a strong system for donor coordination around rapid onset shocks, such
as cyclones, challenges remain for slow onset shocks and longer-term readiness efforts for
highly vulnerable populations. USAID through the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA,) is
uniquely positioned to sustainably strengthen community resilience through its multisectoral,
long-term resilience building programming in chronically vulnerable communities.

ASSUMPTIONS AND RISKS

Assumptions Risks
● The funding from USAID and other donors in ● Frequent changes at the Ministry level
health and resilience-building will continue at the ● Uncontrolled socio-economic impacts following the
same level COVID-19 pandemic and other potential shocks
● The U.S. government will commit resources to ● Resistance to policy and operational change on the
key, targeted actions for improving basic reading part of the government and its leaders
and literacy skills in the education sector ● Language of instruction decisions could slow
● The government recognizes the importance of curricular reform
participation and ownership of the community ● Global health program-specific priorities and
platform in health spending restrictions may have a limiting effect on
● Disaster risk reduction and climate change integrated programming and health systems
adaptations are prioritized by the GOM within the strengthening activities
annual budgeting process ● Weak GOM coordination across Ministries involved
in resilience building and disaster management and
lack of clarity regarding the roles of each relevant
GOM entity

IR 1.1: SUSTAINABLE HEALTH IMPACTS ACCELERATED

Reducing maternal, infant, and child mortality is a critical GOM priority and necessary to ensure
improved health and well-being for the nation. USAID investments will continue to improve
outcomes related to maternal, infant, and child mortality while advancing the health and well-
being of the population. Building off prior successes, the Mission will work with the public to
adopt better health and care seeking behaviors while addressing traditional beliefs, practices,
and social norms that negatively impact them, particularly among women. In coordination with
the GOM and other donors, USAID will ensure increased availability of and accessibility to a
continuum of quality health, nutrition, and WASH services, and ensure resources for health and
WASH are mobilized and optimized. USAID’s Community Capacity for Health Program (CCHP)
will continue to partner with NGOs, CHVs, youth peer educators, religious leaders, and the
GOM to scale up existing and new efforts at the community and policy levels that aim to reduce

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CEFM, adolescent cohabitation, and birth rates, while increasing FP use and awareness of the
negative effects of GBV, and improving the national policy environment for gender equity.
These actions will increase self-reliance in Madagascar, engage multi-sectoral approaches via
Ministries of Health, Population, Youth and Education, and enable the GOM to reach its FP2020
and SDG goals. Finally, USAID’s work will increase the capacity of Madagascar’s health sector to
improve management and governance facilitating Madagascar’s J2SR. As an example, USAID
has built up a network of CHVs that provide health services to more than half of the rural
population. USAID aims to fully integrate CHVs into the public health sector, with public sector
providers providing the bulk of CHV supervision and training and the GOM supporting their
salaries and benefits.

The Mission supports the GOM’s vision that, “By 2030 the
entire Malagasy Population is healthy, lives in a safe
environment, and has a better and productive life.” The
National Health Sector Development Plan 2015-2019,
outlined objectives including improving accessibility and
affordability of preventative and curative health services;
stimulating demand for and use of health services; effective
participation and coordination of government, civil society
and donors; decentralization of the health system; and scaling up high impact interventions to
accelerate the reduction of maternal and infant mortality. The plan, in alignment with the
Mission’s work, also recognizes the importance of health issues faced by specific population
groups, such as the elderly, persons with disabilities, and women.

USAID funded the Madagascar Health Financing Analyses (2019) which highlighted the
importance of effective coordination between the GOM, donors, the private sector, and CSOs.
The strong health PTF ensures effective coordination of activities and investments. This solid
collaboration among partners also plays an important role in creating a clear choice for the
GOM as the Chinese are increasingly trying to gain influence in this sector.

The Mission will continue to transition from direct support to a combination of service delivery
and investments in systems strengthening that are linked directly to improving the accessibility
to and sustainability of quality health and WASH services. Activities in the next five years will
expand focus on local development solutions and promotion of country ownership and
leadership to implement these solutions with good governance, accountability and
transparency. The Mission will strengthen the GOM’s ability to sustain its own development
agenda by increasing the mobilization of domestic resources for health, engaging the private
sector to expand delivery of quality products, scaling-up effective health financing strategies
that increase financial protection for the poor, and improving service delivery efficiencies. It
will support improvements in data quality, collection (including local level sex-disaggregated
data) and build country capacity for analyses and the use of data for decision-making.

The Results Framework addresses challenges in supply, demand, and the enabling environment
that are critical for increasing both the accessibility and use of services. On the demand side,
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disseminating information and reinforcing messages about positive healthy behaviors and
timely use of health services are key to changing behaviors. On the supply side, increasing the
availability of and accessibility to a quality continuum of care services is fundamental to
achieving results given inadequate infrastructure, human resources, drug stockouts, lack of
medical supplies and equipment, as well as weak information, logistics, human resources,
financing, and delivery systems. The Mission will improve the coordination and effective
partnering between the GOM, donors, civil society, community and private sectors to
strengthen management capacity and engagement at local and national levels.

IR 1.2: BASIC EDUCATION OUTCOMES IMPROVED

Despite strong donor coordination within the education sector,
the education system remains highly inefficient and ineffective.
Per the latest Program for the Analysis of Education System
(PASEC), Madagascar’s primary grade reading outcomes are
among the lowest in Francophone Africa with 83% of students
not meeting minimum proficiency for reading at the end of
grade five. The Global Partnership for Education and the World
Bank support the GOM’s package of wide-ranging education - The Mahay Mamaky Teny
or “I know how to read”
sector reforms, including expansion and national scaling up of
program was an ambitious
the USAID-piloted EGR curriculum. seven-month program to
build capacity of the MEN.
USAID will invest in strategic areas to support the effective
national scale-up of the improved EGR curriculum which was - The program team was
largely composed of MEN
piloted by USAID. Ensuring the quality and reach of improved
technicians from different
reading instruction nationwide in early primary grades will departments and interns
improve the efficiency of the school system by reducing from the Ecole Normale
repetition and dropout rates, and provide the most critical tool Superieure (ENS) or teacher
for academic success in later grades: timely mastery of reading training college.
skills. Additionally, the new EGR curriculum will implement best
practices in establishing a gender-sensitive curriculum. New
textbooks and manuals will use gender equitable and inclusive
language; gender equitable illustrations; and equal frequency of
representation between girls, boys, women, and men.6 These
changes will help eliminate sexist stereotypes found in curricula,
manuals, and teaching practices that reinforce socially approved
norms contributing to CEFM, early pregnancy, and GBV.

In close partnership with the MEN and the World Bank, USAID will build the capacity of the
national teacher training institutes and education faculties of national universities to ensure all
new teachers receive adequate pre-service training in literacy instruction and gender-sensitive

6
RTI International. A Guide for Strengthening Gender Equality and Inclusiveness in Teaching and Learning Materials.
Washington, DC: U.S. Agency for International Development, 2015. [Link]
gender-equality-and-inclusiveness-teaching-and-learning-materials-2#modal-29-628
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teaching practices. In addition, the system for in-service professional development and
coaching will be strengthened through the rollout of training in EGR for teachers in high priority
regions as the program is taken to scale.

Sustainably improving educational outcomes requires partnerships beyond the government.

USAID will partner closely with private sector partners, including the national networks of
Catholic and various Protestant schools, secular private schools, and publishers (ecumenical
and secular), to further expand improved EGR instructional techniques and augment the
availability and distribution of appropriate reading and teaching materials in schools. USAID
will also support the revitalization of parent-teacher associations at schools both to sensitize
parents to their role in supporting their children’s academic success and to offer a platform by
which parents can hold schools and teachers accountable for their performance.

The quality of implementation and ultimately the effectiveness of efforts to improve EGR can
only be objectively assessed through data. To this end, USAID will provide technical assistance
and equipment to build the capacity of the central and decentralized MEN staff to
systematically collect, analyze, and report data on reading outcomes in early grades; and to
use this information to make decisions regarding budgeting, monitoring, professional
development, staffing and other critical issues at the local level.

IR 1.3: VULNERABILITY TO SHOCKS REDUCED

Reducing individual and community vulnerability to shocks is critical to sustainable human

development. Investments that enable households and communities to plan for, mitigate, and
recover from shocks preserve gains and protect investments in the health and education
sectors by reducing the risk of depletion of resources and assets in the face of a catastrophe.
Madagascar suffers droughts, regular infestations of Fall Armyworm and locusts, and multiple
cyclones and floods each year. These disasters can incur costly damage to infrastructure that
the GOM lacks the funding to rehabilitate, degrading public services and undermining
development gains. Moreover, geographic and environment-related challenges have a
disproportionate impact on women, youth, persons living with disabilities, and residents of
rural areas. These populations often rely on agricultural-related sources of income, which
these types of shocks and crises typically impact. Consequently, negative coping mechanisms
emerge during times of crisis and disaster, including among women and girls who too often find
themselves forced to use such mechanisms. For example, girls may fall victim to abuse and
exploitation to meet their or their families’ basic needs during times of crisis and shock.
Vulnerable populations have fewer resources and mechanisms to bounce back from shocks and
crises brought on by climate change, natural disaster, and mismanagement of natural
resources. While the GOM seeks to seize its role as the coordinator of emergency assistance,
weak capacity hinders its efforts, placing the onus on local communities and households to
minimize the losses and expedite recovery related to shocks.

The presence of the COVID-19 pandemic places the population at further risk of having
insufficient resources to face natural disasters and stressors. Loss of livelihoods has increased

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because of containment and lockdown measures, especially for those in the informal sector
which employs 9 out of 10 workers in Madagascar.7 In fact, nearly every productive sector in
Madagascar has been impacted, notably the services industry (of which tourism is a part) that
makes up 54 percent of the country’s GDP.8 The impacts of COVID-19 have been even more
detrimental for women and girls as the risk of GBV is higher in times of shock and gender norms
act as key barriers to resilience9. Consequently, resilience-building is vitally important to
sustainable human capacity outcomes.

USAID through BHA will extend its tested local disaster risk mitigation approach to new
beneficiary communities over the coming five years. USAID will support a community-driven
approach to identify the most common types of shocks affecting local areas and identify and
implement priority actions to prepare for, mitigate, and recover from these shocks. USAID will
improve women and girls' participation in risk reduction efforts. Risk reduction and coping
strategies for longer-term threats such as multi-year droughts and the economic impacts of
COVID-19 will also be addressed. Work will focus on the highly food insecure and disaster
affected regions on the flood- and cyclone-affected southeastern coast, and on the drought-
and insect infestation-prone southwestern coast. USAID will support the implementation of the
national strategy for Risk and Disaster Management (2016-2030), setting up community level
disaster risk management committees and providing them with training and tools for success.
In doing so, USAID will apply lessons learned from both the Strategic Program for Climate
Resilience (SPCR) and the accompanying Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR) which
provide a sound gender analysis of risks and vulnerabilities to natural disasters that climate
change has exacerbated. Also, USAID will build and reinforce communication with BNGRC to
facilitate national level data collection and response coordination.

Shocks can expand beyond natural disasters and systemic political or economic shocks to
include individual circumstances such as ill health, the theft of assets, or other unforeseen
situations. USAID will strengthen resilience by improving health and nutrition outcomes,
through investments in WASH infrastructure and behavior change, to provide the physical
conditions needed to weather shocks. USAID will invest in adult literacy, establish village
savings and lending groups, and improve education quality to ensure literacy for the next
generation. These interventions, coupled with the training and resources needed to support
diversification of livelihoods, will provide critical skills and income opportunities needed to
better ensure food security and flexibly adapt and seize new livelihood opportunities for a
quicker post-shock recovery.
DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE II: GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY AND EFFECTIVENESS
IMPROVED IN ORDER TO MITIGATE CYCLICAL POLITICAL INSTABILITY
Development Hypothesis Statement: IF the GOM accesses and mobilizes additional monetary
resources to support development, provides citizens with tools to participate in democratic

7
UNDP. “The Socio-Economic Impact of COVID-19, Madagascar”. April 2020: 6
8
UNDP. “The Socio-Economic Impact of COVID-19, Madagascar”. April 2020: 4
9
USAID/Madagascar Gender Analysis Report, 2020.
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processes and civic life, and takes actions to strengthen rule of law—with support from USAID
and complementary efforts from other donors—THEN the GOM will have the enhanced
accountability and effectiveness in the eyes of the public that is fundamental to establishing a
stable political order.

Development Hypothesis Narrative: A fundamental challenge in Madagascar is that the GOM

lacks accountability and effectiveness in the eyes of the public, leading to cyclical political
instability that severely undermines national development. Improved governance is critical for
sustaining gains in other sectors. This DO focuses squarely on building the capacity of targeted
government institutions and personnel critical to achieving the CDCS Mission Objective. The
Mission has been selective by identifying Ministries and communes that have demonstrated
commitment to approaches for accountable governance envisioned by this DO, thus prioritizing
partnerships with those partners most willing to change.

By addressing corruption and lengthy processing times in civil

and business courts, and by improving the ability of staff at
the Independent Anti-Corruption Bureau to prosecute cases,
USAID will strengthen the rule of law in ways that engender
public confidence while fostering an open and fair business
climate and promoting economic growth (IR 2.1). Likewise, in
order to make sustainable progress towards self-reliance,
Madagascar needs to improve its ability to budget for, access,
absorb, and implement development resources. USAID will partner with selected
government ministries and communes to improve domestic resource mobilization,
expenditure, and auditing. This approach will bolster the ability of the government to
respond to citizen demands while reinforcing systems strengthening efforts in selected
sectors (IR 2.2). Finally, USAID will support the GOM to better listen and respond to citizen
needs by improving the ability of personnel to perform key government functions and
supporting GOM initiatives to provide citizens—including underrepresented groups—with
skills and platforms for participating in civic life (IR 2.3).

HOST GOVERNMENT PRIORITIES

Through the PEM, the GOM has indicated a commitment to reforms that would strengthen
government accountability, including addressing core economic and social issues by aligning
with the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The governance provisions of
the PEM include promoting greater citizen participation in democratic processes and civic
activity, improving rule of law and justice system effectiveness, and strengthening government
transparency and responsiveness. The PEM also calls for improving public financial
management and administration to reduce government corruption and ineffectiveness, as well
as renewing the focus on decentralization and more transparent, accountable, and
participatory approaches to service delivery. Through Law No. 2011-012 the GOM requires all
political parties to adopt a gender approach through their objectives and activities. However,

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low representation of women in local and national government may create obstacles to the
responsiveness of governance systems to the needs and priorities of women and girls.

KEY PARTNERSHIPS

To inform governance strengthening interventions, USAID undertook a thorough stakeholder

consultation process that identified Madagascar’s highest priority unmet governance needs.
Taking into consideration its manageable interests, synergies with the investments and
priorities of the GOM and other donors, benefits to other U.S. investments and priorities
(including across the Interagency), and geographic targeting where appropriate, the Mission
selected a set of interventions most likely to yield the greatest sustainable impact with the
resources available.

Certain interventions are intended to have a national-level impact, such as strengthening the
Court of Accounts (COA), Madagascar’s supreme audit institution. Others are restricted to
selected ministries or geographic regions in order to: i) enhance the impact of other ongoing
U.S. investments; ii) advance U.S. influence in domains currently dominated by China; or iii)
extend the coverage of similar interventions funded by previous USAID activities or other
donors (e.g. World Bank) in different parts of the country (such as the setting up of public
commune-level consultative governance platforms [SLCs] or professional development for
selected sub-national government administrative offices). Similarly, USAID plans to engage
subnational partners for domestic resource mobilization (DRM), including but not limited to
mayors, commune agents, district agents, and region staff, within selected communes of three
key regions. Activities under this CDCS complement work or fill gaps in coverage by donors
such as the European Union (EU), UNDP and GIZ in areas including decentralization, improving
public resource management, and addressing corruption.

ASSUMPTIONS AND RISKS

Assumptions Risks

● Central government transfers an appropriate level ● Political instability

of resources to local governments ● Cabinet reshuffles or changes in senior government
● Political leadership supports and takes concrete personnel slow down or block implementation of
measures to implement decentralization policy USAID activities
● Political stability persists (i.e. absence of renewed ● Government slows or blocks the implementation of
political crisis) USAID activities
● Budget allocations to cover institutions that USAID
plans to support remain adequate
● Focus on supply-side of good governance is an
effective starting point for a long-term good
governance
● Improved GOM performance will increase citizen
willingness to engage in civic life

IR 2.1: GOM DEMONSTRATES INCREASED COMMITMENT TO ENFORCING RULE OF LAW

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Madagascar’s performance in upholding the rule of law has deteriorated markedly since 2009.
The World Justice Project 2019 Rule of Law Index ranks Madagascar 107 out of 126 countries
for rule of law. Though the PEM cites “Good Governance and Institutions” as a priority,
corruption, enforcement of laws and regulations, access to and the quality of civil and criminal
justice, and government accountability for the quality and availability of public services remain
formidable challenges. Disregard for rule of law among the country’s leadership strengthens
mass disillusionment with government and even the notion of democracy itself. This
contributes to widespread popular disengagement from democratic government institutions
and processes such as pursuing justice through the formal legal system or participating civic life.
These circumstances are particularly true of women who have a low rate of representation in
decision making positions in local and national government. Limited literacy skills, limited
ability to pay legal fees, and adherence to traditional legal systems often prevent women from
accessing justice or exercising their rights. These detrimental effects contribute to Madagascar
being among the least attractive countries in the world for foreign direct investment;10 it
ranked 161 out of 190 countries for the “ease of doing business” on the World Bank’s 2020
Doing Business Report. Supporting the GOM’s stated objective to combat corruption and
strengthen rule of law will not only serve to build the foundation for stable development gains,
but will also potentially enable Madagascar to regain eligibility for a Millennium Challenge
Compact grant—an important source of additional assistance for under-resourced Madagascar.

The Mission will address rule of law in areas that support other DOs and complement efforts by
other donors. It will improve the effectiveness of non-criminal courts to increase citizen
confidence in the judicial system as a viable means to resolve disputes and seek justice—
particularly true for women and young girls who are less likely to seek justice. While the legal
and policy framework for issues such as GBV prevention and response and land tenure rights
has become more comprehensive, the actual enforcement of laws is weak. Consequently,
USAID’s work will emphasize better processing of land tenure cases since such cases are a
significant part of the caseload and challenges involving land ownership have important
repercussions for gender rights, biodiversity protection, resilience, and PSE. In addition, the
Mission will look for further opportunities where our work might adopt a GBV-sensitive
approach and further support women’s right to justice. Work described under IR 2.2 below will
enhance the judicial system’s ability to ensure better quality delivery of public services and
identify and reduce corruption. Additional activities under DO 3 will combat corruption
through countering wildlife trafficking—a primary source of corruption in Madagascar—and
assistance to the Customs Department to modernize their processing systems at ports of entry.

IR 2.2: INCREASED GOM ACCESS TO AND EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF FINANCIAL

RESOURCES FOR DEVELOPMENT

Ineffective public sector financial management (PFM) is a key impediment to economic growth,
the delivery of social services, and citizen confidence in democratic processes. Despite having
procedures for audit controls in place, internal audits—primarily the responsibility of the COA—
10
UNDP (2018). Rapport Annuel 2018: Vers un développement durable basé sur une transition démocratique.
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lack adequate funding and generally do not take place. Other unmet needs weaken the COA
including the need for legal reform to bolster its independence as well as resources, training,
and strategic planning to do its job more effectively. In 2016, the GOM adopted a 10-year
strategic plan to modernize PFM but progress has been hampered by lack of technical
assistance. USAID will provide expertise to improve the quality and quantity of audits
conducted as well as increased and improved reporting on the findings. The COA and its six
provincial Financial Tribunals will be supported to analyze not only whether funds were used as
expected, but also whether funds achieved their intended purpose and were utilized in line
with stated priorities. In order to ensure audit findings and reports are utilized, the COA will
receive technical assistance to effectively communicate and follow up on the implementation
of recommendations by the subjects of their audits. USAID will support the COA to establish
systematic communication with civil society organizations to ensure findings reach a broader
audience to better hold the government accountable, and to align the annual report briefing to
parliamentarians with the start of the annual budget process in order to facilitate
parliamentarians’ use of data to inform budget decisions at the highest level. According to the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) 2015
Shadow Report, participatory budgeting is an effective tool for increasing women’s
participation in decision making in community development, which remains largely absent from
Malagasy public finance and budgeting processes.

Madagascar’s low aid absorption rate is a further indication of the challenges it faces in
government effectiveness. From 2009 to 2015, the average aid absorption rate in Madagascar
was just 67% for direct sector budget support, 75% for technical assistance, and 45% for loans.
Several factors explain the bottlenecks in the country’s programming and expending of aid
resources, including: i) procedural and administrative constraints; ii) lack of coordination
between partners’ fiscal cycles and the government’s budget year; iii) low capacity of
administrative personnel; and iv) a failure to involve key stakeholders (deputies, civil society)
in all phases of project design and management.11 To improve central level budget
formulation and execution, including absorption, USAID will provide government officials in
high priority ministries with the needed skills and tools to help them prepare budgets, design
scopes of work and other paperwork in compliance with donor requirements, identify and
analyze the bottlenecks within their respective units and processes, and adopt procedural
changes to reduce them. At the subnational level, USAID will select motivated commune
government partners to receive support that will enable commune officials to collect
revenues, mobilize domestic resources, allocate resources to priority needs and invest in
community-identified high priority development projects. In addition, USAID will facilitate the
adoption of transparent information sharing and professional skills development for greater
shared clarity around the legal requirements and processes for the flow of funding and related
reporting to combat corruption and improve the perception of subnational government
administrative performance.

11
Secrétariat Technique Permanent pour de la coordination de l’aide (May 2016). Évaluation du taux d’absorption
de l’aide à Madagascar.
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IR 2.3: GOM ESTABLISHES FOUNDATIONAL CONDITIONS FOR IMPROVED RESPONSIVENESS

TO CITIZENS

Average Malagasy citizens have a limited understanding of the government’s role and do not
trust it to respond to their needs. Combined with a cultural tendency of average citizens to
defer to authority, these factors have resulted in only limited citizen demand for greater
government responsiveness and accountability. Civic engagement is confined largely to
participation in elections, and most people have a limited understanding of the roles and
responsibilities of citizenship in a democracy. Few CSOs have become effective intermediary
bodies able to channel and advocate for societal needs and demands that are in the broader
public interest to bind elites and make them more accountable to the population at large.

With respect to public administration, the GOM does not make efficient use of most available
human, financial, and organizational resources. Recruitment and promotion practices lack
transparency with many members of the administration reportedly selected without
consideration of their qualifications, including those at the highest ranks in government.
Officials often lack basic managerial skills and a lack of systematic accountability for staff
performance allows poor performers to remain in the system for years without improving.

USAID will enhance the culture of performance among civil servants, increase their capacity to
perform their duties effectively, and strengthen consultative governance platforms to facilitate
citizens participation in civic life. USAID will focus on the support organizational development
of national administrative training institutions (ENAM, INDDL) by: i) revising their curricula to
include modules specific to policy and skills relevant to decentralized administrative functions;
and ii) offering relevant, high quality, sequenced packages of continuing professional
development for GOM employees and officials. Special attention will be given to women
because while they represent only six percent of all decision-making leadership positions across
the political system, they can play a critical role in helping to address many social issues,
including GBV and gender equality.

Additionally, the Mission will support the government’s implementation of its decentralization
policy by catalyzing the start-up and vitality of SLCs in new geographic areas. Through USAID
assistance, SLCs will offer a sustained opportunity for citizens to systematically engage in
community governance and development processes, have their voices heard by officials, and
thereby strengthen accountability.

In recognition of the need to ensure the capacity and motivation of citizens to participate in
governance, the Mission has proposed to strengthen civic education for youth in secondary
schools. As part of the Education Sector Plan, basic education is being extended from five years
to nine, providing an opportunity to expose all youth to a rich civic education commensurate
with their intellectual and emotional level of development in ninth grade. This activity has
strong potential to provide a massive and sustainable impact at relatively low cost by providing
the next generation of youth leaders with the skills and knowledge needed to constructively
engage in Madagascar’s political and civic life.

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DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE III: MORE SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES ARE

AVAILABLE FOR POOR POPULATIONS (PRIMARILY WITHIN THE AGRICULTURAL AND
ENVIRONMENTAL SECTORS)
Development Hypothesis Statement: IF natural resources are sustainably managed, a favorable
environment for private sector led-growth exists, and capacity to participate in the economy by
different segments of the market is enhanced, THEN farmers and the poor will move beyond
subsistence agriculture, have alternatives to slash and burn agricultural practices, increase their
resilience, and eventually escape the poverty trap.

Development Hypothesis Narrative:

The growth diagnostic for Madagascar has shown that agriculture and tourism are amongst the
highest growth sectors. Agriculture employs 80% of the population, primarily in rural areas.
Given these statistics and how USAID work impacts biodiversity by reducing threats or
improving conservation, agriculture and environment are the most feasible sectors for
sustainable economic growth.

Environmental degradation, subsistence agriculture, and corruption—exacerbated by climate

change—create a poverty trap for 75% of the population. Escaping that trap requires
protecting the natural resource base and creating an enabling environment for the private
sector to grow the economy. Increased access to electricity, secure land tenure, better
regulations for investment, and increased capacity of actors all along key value chains will also
advance sustainable economic growth.

DO 3 will promote sustainable natural resource management by working with the GOM, the
private sector, and CSOs to foster improved agricultural practices and diversified rural
livelihoods, conserve high biodiversity areas, strengthen environmental governance and
conservation finance mechanisms, and implement climate change strategies. Target areas
include landscapes and seascapes in MaMaBay, Menabe, Anosy; and the two forest corridors
Ankeniheny-Zahamena and Fandriana-Vondrozo. USAID will improve the enabling environment
for the private sector through trade facilitation, increased access to financing, and more secure
land tenure. Additional gains will arise from increasing the capacity of economic actors along
the value chain through enhanced access to markets, increased productivity, increased
functional literacy of adults and youth, leveraging Power Africa to improve electricity access,
and improved business development services. Since the growing youth population puts greater
pressure on natural resources and job creation, USAID will incorporate youth into economic
development and natural resource management activities. Similarly, DO 3 will consider gender
concerns associated with certain economic, natural resource management and land tenure
activities, particularly where women have limited decision-making power and opportunities for
economic participation (i.e., revenue decisions, ability to earn).

COVID-19 has gravely impacted Madagascar’s economy and natural resources. The tourism
sector has completely stopped, and the agriculture and services sectors have been hit hard.

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This has led poor people to turn towards destructive practices and environmental crimes to
replace their lost income.

HOST GOVERNMENT PRIORITIES

Sustainable economic development and environment are two pillars of the PEM. The GOM has
demonstrated its commitment by actively looking to partner with the private sector in the
agriculture, energy, and environmental sectors. GOM priorities such as investing in the green
and blue economies, ecotourism and renewable energy, fighting illegal exploitation and
deforestation, and addressing the effects of climate change all align with DO 3. The GOM has
committed to ambitious reforestation targets as well as to preserving existing forests and
increasing protected areas. It has asked for assistance in reforestation, protected area
management, trade facilitation, land tenure, and access to electricity, demonstrating its interest
in aligning with the CDCS.

The GOM’s strategy for agriculture aims to develop sustainable modern agriculture, promote
agribusiness, and strengthen the blue economy. The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and
Fisheries (MAEP) is updating policies and implementing reforms to attract foreign and national
direct investments to the sector. The MAEP is also updating key legal frameworks including the
National Agribusiness Strategy and the Law on Biological Agriculture.

KEY PARTNERSHIPS

For DO 3, USAID has completed donor mapping and identified major gaps. Partners usually
work in different geographic zones to avoid duplication. The key environmental donors (EU,
UN, WB, GIZ, JICA and AFDB) primarily coordinate with USAID in environmental governance,
sustainable natural resources management, climate change, and private sector engagement.
Collectively, this group presents a powerful force against malign actors such as China which
participates in wildlife trafficking and other practices that destroy Madagascar’s natural
resources. BHA projects coordinate with other projects funded by IFAD, the EU, and GIZ to
share best practices to help provide a complete package of assistance to farmers that improves
agricultural techniques, access to markets, and the development of value chains. These
projects partner with the GOM to provide technical support to farmers and facilitate land
registration through support to the land management office (Guichet Foncier). BHA projects
also work with local service providers for seed multiplication and marketing, as well as with
producer associations along targeted value chains to facilitate trade and investment.

USAID collaborates with CSOs to support their engagement and advocacy actions, especially to
represent communities and establish good governance. Key partners include national
platforms of CSOs working in the environment and CSOs working on land tenure and the local
management of marine zones.

ASSUMPTIONS AND RISKS

Assumptions Risks

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● Political will exists to prioritize preservation of ● Large mining investment in protected areas
environment in national and sectoral policies ● Chinese business practices are putting at risk small-
● Political will exists to combat corruption and scale fisher communities
environmental crimes ● Global economic downturn and current vanilla price
● Political stability and adequate institutional decreases are detrimental to economic growth
knowledge and capacity exists across key ● Major shocks (COVID-19 impacts, prolonged
Ministries drought, insect infestation, disease outbreak, etc.)
● Donor funding maintained for agriculture and overwhelm communities’ ability to participate in
environment sectors and benefit from USAID activities
● Government continues to prioritize land reform to ● Environmental degradation and accelerated climate
secure land rights in rural areas change
● Consumer demand for green and blue products ● Market instability and fluctuations for key value
continues to increase chains supported by USAID

IR 3.1: NATURAL RESOURCES SUSTAINABLY MANAGED

Biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of Madagascar’s natural resources are

undermined by ineffective implementation of legal and regulatory frameworks, restrictions on
land tenure, weak protection of property rights, and poverty and corruption. The GOM
committed to the 2003 Durban Vision and the 2014 Promise of Sydney which aimed to triple
both its terrestrial and marine protected areas. Despite this commitment, it has made few
gains and its stated time frame for reaching these goals has long passed. Inadequate funding
for protected areas and natural resource management, low capacity development to GOM staff
and local communities, and an inability to prosecute environmental crimes have all led to a
higher deforestation rate and biodiversity degradation. DO 3 activities will conserve
Madagascar’s biodiversity areas through more effective protected area management based on
territorial planning at a landscape level. These areas include tropical forests, dry forests,
marine areas, coral reefs, and mangroves with high rates of endemic biodiversity that are under
threat and require conservation efforts to preserve key ecosystems and species. USAID will
support community-based natural resource management by working with the private sector
and conservation enterprises. This activity will include support to eco-friendly agribusiness and
ecotourism development via the establishment of concessions and sharing of benefits with
local communities.

USAID will reinforce environmental governance by creating the enabling conditions for effective
conservation of natural resources, devolving user rights and benefits to communities, and
improving the processes for securing land tenure. Secure land tenure is a bridge to economic
growth. Moreover, women’s land rights are directly tied to their ability to gain an economic
foothold in the country. Their lack of access to resources, including land, means that they lack
collateral, preventing them from securing loans.

The GOM’s budget allocations to the environment and tourism sectors are inadequate. There is
a lack of sectoral coordination and key stakeholders such as communities and the private sector
are often marginalized. USAID will expand conservation finance mechanisms by partnering with
communities and the private sector. These mechanisms will promote payments for ecosystem

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services using a landscape approach including watershed management, sustainable mangrove

management and related economic activities, and productive marine activities in locally
managed marine areas.

The impacts of climate change threaten Madagascar’s biodiversity and its people. Climate
change due to deforestation and environmental degradation affects access to resources,
productivity, and the ability to maintain livelihoods, especially for women. USAID will help
farmers to improve their economic and climate resilience by using improved practices through
conservation agriculture. This effort will result in improved yields using less land, thus reducing
deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. USAID will promote renewable energy and
support rural electrification through hydropower production and/or promotion of improved
cooking stoves using alternative energy sources such as ethanol. Additional efforts will target
reforestation and landscape restoration to support conservation and establish sinks for carbon
sequestration.

IR 3.2: ENABLING ENVIRONMENT FOR PRIVATE SECTOR IMPROVED

Inclusive economic growth that fosters job creation and economic opportunity requires a
strong enabling environment for the private sector. The World Bank 2020 Madagascar
Economic Memorandum reported that the lack of organized supply chains, deficiencies in
access to physical capital including road infrastructure and electricity, and obstacles to
accessing land were major barriers for the private sector to invest in the agriculture sector. In
line with USAID’s comparative advantage, DO 3 activities will improve the enabling
environment by facilitating trade, increasing access to finance and electricity, securing land
tenure, and under BHA programs improving road infrastructure and supply chains to facilitate
private sector engagement and investment in rural areas.

Madagascar’s main exports are textiles and agricultural commodities such as vanilla12, cloves,
coffee, shellfish, and fiber. Frequent changes in trade policy and long delays at ports have
caused inefficiencies in trade import and export. The GOM has developed a comprehensive
trade facilitation road map and requested assistance to modernize the customs processing
system and reduce delays at ports of entry. USAID will assist the Ministry of Industry and
Commerce (MICA) to implement the Trade Facilitation Roadmap and help develop trade policy
for vanilla, coffee, cocoa and ethanol for cooking. Also, USAID will provide assistance to the
Customs Department in alignment with the Agency’s New Partnership Initiative (NPI).

For private sector production to increase, smallholder farmers and fishermen, social
enterprises, and other informal actors must have access to financing—particularly true of
women, who in developing countries are 20 percent less likely to have a formal bank account
and 17 percent less likely to have informally borrowed money.13 In Madagascar only 5.5

12
Vanilla represents 26.1% of all exports.
13 World Bank. Expanding Women’s Access to Financial Services, n.d.

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percent of Malagasy women had an account at a financial institution in 2014 and social norms
frequently prevent women from having collateral such as land needed to obtain a loan.

Madagascar’s micro-finance institutions (MFIs) have fairly low capacity and are not well
regulated, while traditional banks do not have deposit insurance. This has led to a lack of trust
from the public when these institutions have failed. To increase public trust, capacity, and
regulation of the financing sector, USAID will work with the U.S. Treasury which supports the
Ministry of Economy and Finance to update the regulatory framework for banks and MFIs and
institute a deposit insurance system. For the unbanked, activities will focus on establishing a
culture of savings through village savings and loans associations (VSLAs). USAID food security
and health activities have also supported the Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILCs)
and VSLAs, promoting women’s economic empowerment through easy access to credit and
other financial services for households and healthcare providers. USAID will scale up this
approach to reach a larger percentage of the population in our target areas.

Only 15 percent of Madagascar’s population has access to electricity, with only five percent
access in rural areas. USAID’s Southern Africa Energy Program, part of Power Africa, is currently
implementing activities in Madagascar focused on rural electrification, financing and business
development for smaller energy companies, and providing technical assistance to the national
utility to modernize the grid. There are a number of US energy and financial firms working in
Madagascar and growing opportunities for more American businesses to invest.

Based on evidence from past work in the areas of food security and PSE, activities under BHA
will improve feeder roads to increase market access and expand opportunities for existing
formal and informal small and medium enterprises. The GOM has demonstrated its
commitment to facilitate access to supply chains through the rehabilitation of main roads to
high agriculture potential areas and the implementation of special Agriculture Processing Zones
(Zone de Transformation Agricole) and Zones d’Emergence Agricoles.

IR 3.3: CAPACITY OF ECONOMIC ACTORS ALONG VALUE CHAINS IMPROVED

Given its tremendous potential for inclusive economic growth and for poor rural household
participation, agriculture (including livestock and fisheries), is a main focus of DO 3. The sector
is characterized by low-productivity subsistence agriculture practiced by a majority of poor
farmers having less than 1.5 hectares of land with an average of 60% of their production
devoted for self-consumption.14

The Mission aims to facilitate moving more than 95,000 households from subsistence to
commercial agriculture and significantly increase their income. In addition, USAID will assist an
estimated 60,000 individuals in the MaMaBay and Menabe regions to use climate information
and implement risk-reducing actions to improve resilience to climate change. The Mission will
maintain its focus on farmers, agro-entrepreneurs and actors in key value chains of staple foods
(rice, cassava, maize and vegetables) and high value cash crops (spices, coffee, cacao, livestock

14
FAO-Rapport Final EPASA 2019
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and fishery products) in the poor regions of the North East, Central West, Southeast and
Southern parts of Madagascar. The aim is to improve their capacity to achieve important
transformational household income gains that, where possible, may be taken to scale.

To spur greater investment, facilitate trade, and create economic

opportunity in the target rural areas, the Mission will organize
producers into cooperatives, increase their production capacity,
and support them to build agriculture aggregation centers that
facilitate their negotiation power with larger private sector
players. Greater access to technical training, financing and
educational support will help to better integrate women into
agricultural value chains. Women have traditionally faced barriers and constraints in terms of
limited access to farm inputs and technology, power imbalances during price negotiations with
middlemen traders, low participation in seed multiplication and agri-business activities, and
reduced access to credit.15 The strategy also aims to support actors along the value chain by
improving the financing, operations and management and sustainability of agri-businesses,
wholesalers and exporters.

USAID will actively engage in biodiversity conservation and eco-friendly businesses such as
ecotourism, renewable energy, and shade-grown crops such as vanilla and cocoa. This will
improve sustainable production, increase productivity as well as enhance access to markets
through value chain development, improved agricultural techniques and infrastructure, and
diversification into more nutritious and high value products. According to the World Bank’s
World Development Index, agriculture accounts for 60 percent of youth and 70 percent of
women employment. Therefore, the Mission will expand participation by women and youth in
social enterprises and foster access to the agriculture and tourism value chains.

The Mission’s PSE Plan envisions expanding the diversity of partnerships to include financial
investors, large fishing and farmer organizations and private sector actors such as contract-
farming organizations, agro-processors, supermarket chains and tourism operators. The most
notable partnership opportunities are with local and international companies looking to secure
and green their supply chains while also offering expertise and linkages to markets. USAID will
expand these types of collaborations under the CDCS.

This IR aligns with the PEM’s aims to modernize agriculture and increase competitiveness in the
agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors. The GOM is updating the agriculture, livestock and
fisheries sector legal framework which will facilitate efforts under this IR. Partners, including
the African Development Bank, World Bank, GIZ, EU and IFAD support complementary efforts
such as value chain development, strengthening agricultural markets, and investments in
relevant infrastructure, energy and tourism sectors.

15
DCED. Gender-Responsive Green Growth: Green Value Chains, August 2019.

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V. MONITORING, EVALUATION, AND LEARNING

Monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) is critical to the success of the Mission’s strategy.
In order to systematically track progress towards the objectives identified in the results
framework, learn from ongoing implementation, and adapt programs as necessary, the Mission
will put in place a robust MEL system built on critical learning priorities and appropriate
approaches to gather evidence needed to make programming decisions throughout the life of
the CDCS.

The Mission anticipates prioritizing learning around four thematic areas to identify the learning
priorities aligned with the Agency’s Self-Reliance Learning Agenda:

● Conditions for the GOM to improve

capacity to deliver quality services and to
increase commitment to enforcing rule of
law;
● Factors contributing to the cost
effectiveness and sustainability of local USAID/Madagascar’s MEL system for monitoring progress
capacity building interventions in critical towards CDCS goals
sectors
● Conditions needed for fostering private
sector engagement and increasing sustainable livelihoods
● Effective integration of gender dimensions in the interventions to achieve the CDCS
goals

As shown in the diagram above, the Mission’s MEL system includes the Performance
Management Plan (PMP), the Performance Indicator Management System (PIMS), and MEL
approaches. These will be strategically designed and incorporated into program management
to support learning that clarifies the correlation between MEL data and program development
outcomes to provide ongoing feedback and inform course corrections.

During PMP development, the Mission will revisit the learning themes above and identify
specific learning priorities and questions that will frame the best MEL approaches for answering
these questions, These approaches will focus on performance monitoring, targeted evaluation
and Collaboration, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) to address the knowledge gaps identified
through a participatory analysis and identification of the Mission learning priorities.

As part of the monitoring approach, the PMP will include a set of key indicators measuring the
host country’s level of capacity and commitment, such as the capacity of the GOM to effectively
deliver services in the development sectors and the GOM’s commitment to improve the local
business environment. PIMS provides timely detailed information and analytics about each
performance indicator and can provide evidence about whether the programs are making
progress towards the CDCS goals and objectives. The Mission will continue to monitor context
indicators relevant to the sectors supported by USAID and that can be collected at reasonable
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costs through secondary data sources or surveys. Monitoring activities include the use of
interactive mapping data and technical support to the local geographic information system
(GIS) networks led by the line ministries (environment, agriculture, WASH) to provide additional
data. USAID collaboration with the GIS network also aims to strengthen the local monitoring
systems for better informed decision-making.

Gender sensitive indicators along with other data sources already identified in the recent
gender analysis will be used to assess the CDCS intervention design and implementation from a
gender perspective. The Mission will keep evaluating the gender dimensions already
incorporated in MEL such as CEFM, inclusive emergency preparedness plans to respond
effectively to food security, women’s empowerment in natural resource management, etc.

The Mission will conduct rigorous and independent evaluations following the USAID Evaluation
Policy requirements to provide opportunities for in-depth reflections on the CDCS learning
priorities and strategic approaches. The Mission will ensure that the evaluation results are
discussed with the key stakeholders through the pause-and-reflect sessions to steer project
interventions towards effectiveness and sustainable development impacts. When appropriate,
the Mission will recommend using the established national evaluation framework and
evaluation working groups in some sectors (e.g. nutrition, environment) to leverage local
resources in the evaluation design.

As part of the CLA approach, the Mission will continue to organize periodic pause-and-reflect
sessions involving the implementing partners and other key stakeholders, especially the private
sector and civil society, to encourage a learning culture that purposefully reflects on
achievements and progress made towards the CDCS goals. Emphasizing strategic collaboration
to share knowledge and capabilities through joint work planning, joint site visits, working
groups with the GOM, donor partners, private sector, civil society, and other key stakeholders is
crucial for the Mission to advance CLA. The CLA plan -- which includes the CDCS mid-course
stocktaking—will be developed in the PMP.

As part of the skills and technology transfer to the GOM, the Mission’s support to the public
health information system through the DHIS2 platform contributes to more reliable health data
and indicators reported to the PIMS. As good quality MEL data is often associated with positive
project outcomes, periodic data quality assessments will be carried out according to USAID’s
data quality standards. In the other priority sectors, the Mission will use its leadership and
convening power to support the GOM’s initiatives in harmonizing the monitoring systems and
learning activities across the stakeholders. It will play an active role in stimulating established
working groups and peer learning networks charged with overseeing the issues raised by the
CDCS learning priorities as well as other critical development concerns for the sectors.

NEW PARTNERSHIPS INITIATIVE

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The Mission will leverage several Partnership Approaches under

the new CDCS. In particular, the Mission will endeavor to make
direct awards to NUPs, including awards to local entities, locally
established partners, and local organizations, as well as leverage
awards to organizations that co-fund with cash. Along with
increased private sector engagement, the Mission will leverage
NUPs to establish foundational conditions, build local capacity, and
assist the country in its transition to self-reliance.

The NPI presents an opportunity to redefine our relationship with the government, whereby
direct awards and strategic capacity building to key GOM offices can empower the GOM to take
greater ownership of Madagascar’s development agenda. Moreover, through the use of direct
awards to GOM institutions, the Mission is well positioned to support the GOM’s commitment
to human capacity, governance, and economic reforms.

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III. ANNEXES
A. Journey to Self-Reliance Country Roadmap - 2020

PHOTO CAPTION GOES HERE

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