Madagascar

For over 10 years, AFD has supported Madagascar in promoting a sustainable urban model that addresses climate, environmental, socio-economic, and heritage conservation challenges.

In partnership with local governments, AFD has financed five flagship projects across seven urban centers, aimed at improving living conditions and urban productivity.

Its interventions focus on the core functions of cities: ensuring widespread access to essential services (water, sanitation, lighting, waste management), promoting urban mobility, and supporting local economic activities.

This holistic approach aims to ensure real territorial cohesion. In cities such as Tamatave, Antananarivo, Majunga, Diego, and Fianarantsoa, more than one million residents are now enjoying improved living conditions.

Supporting sustainable agriculture, conservation of natural resources and resilience to climate change are priorities in Madagascar and the region. The aim is to reconcile these challenges with economic development.

By 2025, some 15 projects are underway in this sector, representing around €95 million of investment and benefiting 120,000 people. These projects follow an integrated approach reconciling sustainable agriculture and environmental protection. They promote institutions conducive to productive, ecological and territorial transitions, while supporting small-scale producers in the use of agro-ecological techniques, sustainable water management processes and the valorization of their land. 

In parallel, France, via the AFD, has been supporting biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of protected areas since 2006, by creating development opportunities around these areas. In particular, it was one of the first contributors to the FAPBM (Fondation pour les Aires Protégées et la Biodiversité de Madagascar), a trust fund ensuring the long-term financing of protected areas. To date, 160,000 hectares have been conserved.

AFD has been supporting general education in Madagascar for over 20 years.

Its action has notably made it possible to: widen children's access to education (construction of hundreds of classrooms), improve the quality of education (teacher training) and strengthen the transversal functions of the education system (planning, HR management, finance, etc.). AFD is currently leading the implementation of an innovative multi-donor mechanism: the Fonds Commun de l'Education (FCE). 

AFD has also been making a major contribution to vocational training since 2011, by supporting the development of diversified training offers tailored to the needs of the economy and the job market. This support is aimed in particular at fostering the employability of young people, and focuses on the implementation of the National Employment and Vocational Training Policy (PNEFP).

Since 2016, AFD's mission has been to promote efficient and transparent institutions, committed to guaranteeing the rule of law and improving public services. AFD's priority is to support governance in sovereign areas via 4 flagship projects: justice (PAJMA project), penitentiary administration (FANARENANA), public finance (PARCC) and migration and diaspora (TADY).

By way of example, the PAJMA and FANARENANA programs have enabled over 10,000 prisoners to benefit from improved conditions of detention, and 800 prison staff to see their working conditions improved.

AFD supports urban governance and decentralization by working to build the capacities of communes and give institutions greater autonomy in the management of urban projects. It also supports the modernization of institutions, integrating digital innovation and promoting social inclusion, notably gender equality.