But now, the availability of electricity and water is reviving many villages, including Fenoaivo in the Anosy region, according to the WFP’s Avimaro Mikendremana.International funding for clean energy in developing countries has dropped to just .8 billion in 2021 from a peak of .4 billion in 2017.The water, which is clean and drinkable, is used to irrigate crops, including in a greenhouse where melons are growing at the moment.When we asked what they needed most, the answer was always water and then electricity. People told me that this combination would save them from experiencing near famine again and having to rely on others to bring in humanitarian aid.
In Fenoaivo, a village of about 300 households, we worked with the government and started by sinking a water hole some 35 metres beneath the surface and then built a storage tank of 20 cubic metres. This water needs to be brought to the surface, which requires a pump. The electricity to work that pump is provided by the 72 solar panels which we built on a structure that was erected in the middle of the village.
In Fenoaivo, a village of about 300 households, we worked with the government and started by sinking a water hole some 35 metres beneath the surface and then built a storage tank of 20 cubic metres. This water needs to be brought to the surface, which requires a pump. The electricity to work that pump is provided by the 72 solar panels which we built on a structure that was erected in the middle of the village.
UN News/Daniel Dickinson
