The DEEP Challenge Fund announced the granting of funding to a number of research initiatives in Madagascar, in a move aimed at protecting the country’s unique biodiversity, expanding income opportunities, enhancing food security, and improving the basic livelihoods of the most vulnerable communities, thus contributing to reducing poverty, enhancing resilience, and achieving comprehensive and sustainable development.
Ms. Venusoa Andrianjakarivola, Director General of ARAKE, stressed that this initiative stems from a firm belief that sustainable change begins with local leadership and knowledge, noting that investing in research led by researchers and practitioners from Madagascar promotes evidence-based solutions, rooted in the local context, and responsible to the beneficiary communities. For her part, Dr. Velomahanina Razakamaharavo from ARAKE and the University of Reading explained that poverty is not a phenomenon. Isolated, it is influenced by overlapping factors including governance systems, environmental pressures, conflict dynamics, health conditions and access to resources, emphasizing that effective responses require a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach based on local realities.
She added that the DEEP Challenge Fund represents a strategic investment in this direction, by supporting accurate local knowledge and building comprehensive partnerships to achieve long-term impact. It is noteworthy that the DEEP Challenge Fund has also granted funding for similar projects in Tanzania, Ethiopia and Bangladesh, where the funded projects were announced in Tanzania and Ethiopia, with the rest of the projects to be announced during the coming period.
