Madagascar Roundup: Election results, Madagascar Airlines, tuberculosis

Election results

The Independent National Electoral Commission of Madagascar (CENI) is set to announce provisional results for the first round of the presidential election on November 25. 68.29% out of the 27,375 polling stations have been processed, local media the Madagascar Tribune reports. The High Constitutional Court (HCC) will announce the official results within ten days. President Andry Rajoelina leads with 59.94% of the votes cast, Madagascar Tribune reported.

World Bank funds Madagascar Airlines

Madagascar Airlines is set to receive support from the World Bank as part of the airline's recovery plan, Phénix 2030. The Malagasy government will provide the funds in advance, with the World Bank repaying them later in the form of a loan, the Madagascar Tribune reported. The Minister of Economy and Finance and the Minister of Transport made this arrangement in a meeting on November 23 with representatives of the World Bank, the Madagascar Tribune reports.

Increase in tuberculosis cases

The number of patients detected to be in the advanced stage of tuberculosis in Madagascar has increased. Patients with cases of tuberculosis found it difficult to secure free places in the tuberculosis care services in Antananarivo last week, local media L’ Express de Madagascar reported. The manager of a tuberculosis treatment centre is quoted by L’ Express de Madagascar saying, “There is a time when the department is full, because we treat all kinds of lung diseases, but not just tuberculosis. However, we can confirm the increase in tuberculosis patients at the moment. And many of them are in the advanced stages of the disease and require hospitalization.”

Recruitment of state agents

The Madagascar government plans to recruit 14,466 agents across all Institutions and Ministries in 2024, according to the nation’s Draft Finance Law 2024 (PLF 2024). Out of the total recruits, 3,675 will be recruited through civil servants and 10,791 through unsupervised agents, the Madagascar Tribune reports. Key sectors include education, public health, public security, justice, environment, and agriculture. The state payroll budget has been set at 4.086.86 billion Malagasy ariary ($899,448), representing 5.16% of nominal GDP and 24.43% of total expenditure, the Madagascar Tribune reported.

Measles vaccines

Madagascar's council of ministers has approved plans concerning the East African nation’s participation in the purchase of 98% of the required measles vaccines in 2024, following the country's strong measles outbreak in 2018 and 2019. The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI) will contribute to the purchase of the vaccines which are estimated to cost over $2.3 million with the government of Madagascar contributing 2% of the amount, local media Midi Madigasikara reported.