During our 33 years in Madagascar, Pact has supported local communities as they endeavor to reach a range of development goals and outcomes across social, economic, health and environmental domains. Pact has worked in all 23 regions of the country and accumulated a deep understanding of the local context and established relationships with networks of local partners and government entities. After decades of operations, Pact is well recognized for its work in local capacity development, natural resource governance and public health in Madagascar.
Pact recently successfully closed the USAID Hay Tao (2018 – 2023) project, the U.S. government’s largest environmental investment in Madagascar in nearly a decade. Madagascar is one of the world’s highest priority countries for biodiversity conservation due to its exceptional species richness, high number of unique plant and animal species, and the magnitude of threats facing these ecological, cultural and economic resources. Meaning ‘Know How’ in Malagasy, the Hay Tao project focused on empowering local communities and the government of Madagascar, to lead the way in the management of their own natural resources.
USAID Hay Tao worked at the national level to strengthen public policy, the capacity of civil society organizations and the use of information technology for data driven biodiversity forestry and wildlife trafficking management. It also ensured the development and dissemination of best practices, training tools and innovative financing options for conservation for communities and stakeholders in environment and development.
Pact’s current programming, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Combating Child Labor in Mica-producing Communities and Gemological Institute of America-funded Empowering Artisanal Miners through Gemstone Education, focuses on combating child labor in mica-producing communities and educating mica miners in occupational health and safety. An estimated 10,000 children are currently working in unsafe conditions in the country’s informal mica industry, a consequence of poverty. Pact’s efforts are increasing immediate and long-term resilience in vulnerable households by connecting children with educational services and adults with support to improve their livelihoods and financial services, while educating miners on operational and health safety practices. These projects also promote the formalization of Madagascar’s mica sector. They support civil society organizations and the media to improve public awareness around the issue of child labor in mining, build the capacity of government officials to coordinate child protection measures in the mica supply chain, including the establishment of a code of conduct for mica mining, and support worker safety and skills promotion.
Pact has a rich history in public health and capacity development in Madagascar, focused on combating HIV and AIDS, as well as tuberculosis and malaria prevention among at-risk key populations in low-income communities. Pact’s past projects implemented in Madagascar include Tuberculosis Program (2010 - 2016) and National Security Application for Malaria Control (2013 - 2016) programs funded by the Global Fund; USDOL Kilonga (2008 - 2012); Rio Tinto Scholarship Education Program (RISE and RISE+) (2012 - 2022); and the USAID MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership (2020 - 2024).
The health outcomes and results achieved through these projects include increased effectiveness in screening and treatment of malaria and improved case management; the establishment of a network of 1,008 community health workers (CHWs) for TB prevention, 72 Diagnostic and Treatment Centers (DTCs), linked and supported by CHWs; the extrication and prevention of more than 9,000 Malagasy children from exploitative labor in commercial sex work, domestic servitude and mining, through the establishment of 44 local committees to combat child labor in seven provincial regions; and 2,220 children and youth provided access to education, health and life skills support, mentoring and job placement.
