Antananarivo expands medical infrastructure and sanitation measures

Municipal authorities in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, implemented a series of medical and sanitary measures to combat contagious diseases and improve public health.

The city government conducts twice yearly spraying of homes with long lasting insecticides to target pests like fleas, lice, and mosquitoes. During the dry season, specialized teams clear urban vegetation and marshes where dangerous insects live. To manage the rat population, officials use anticoagulants, and the municipality shoots stray dogs that roam at night.

The authorities also disinfect homes where contagious diseases like the plague appear and place people who have contact with patients in observation centers. Public health efforts also focus on food and water safety. A treatment plant processes water from the Mandroseza Lake to provide biologically safe water for residents, with daily checks performed at the plant and in household pipes.

While the city requires mandatory vaccinations in schools and runs hygiene information campaigns, officials admit that a lack of staff makes it difficult to enforce laws protecting other food products. Medical infrastructure has grown significantly. By 1968, the city reached a total hospitalization capacity of nearly 2,600 beds, providing one bed for every 130 inhabitants. This includes two large public hospitals, one private clinic, and a planned 740 bed complex in Ampefiloha.

These efforts helped nearly eliminate malaria in the highlands, though officials note that imported cases from coastal regions still pose a risk. While plague and rabies cases have declined, the city still faces serious threats from diphtheria, measles in children, and a rise in gonorrhea linked to unregulated prostitution.