The Indian Ocean island nation's worst drought in 40 years has left hundreds of thousands of people fighting for survival as the crisis gets more dire by the day.

Madagascar has been hit by one of the worst droughts in the region in 40 years, affecting over 1 million people the United Nations has said, warning that the country is facing a severe humanitarian crisis that needs urgent attention.

In Madagascar, some of the country's highest authorities are accused of bankrolling teams to create fake profiles on Facebook which then share biased or false information for political gain. These fake Facebook accounts stir up controversy, sing the praises of President Andry Rajoelina and criticise journalists and opposition politicians. The communications minister, accused of playing a key role, denies any wrongdoing. Our correspondents report.

Some days, all Tsimamorekm Aly eats is sugary water. He's happy if there's a handful of rice. But with six young kids and a wife to support, he often goes without. This is the fourth year that drought has devastated Aly's home in southern Madagascar. Now more than one million people, or two out of five residents, of his Grand Sud region require emergency food aid in what the United Nations is calling a "climate change famine."

While countries from all over the world gather for COP26, "climate change famine" shows no sign of abating in southern Madagascar, where crippling droughts have left families starving, paying what the United Nations describes as the "highest price" of malnutrition induced from climate change. Africa, responsible for just 3% of global emissions, is seen as the most vulnerable region to climate change, as evidenced by Madagascar's droughts this year . African leaders demanded at the Glasgow conference that wealthy countries responsible for the bulk of carbon emissions make good on an earlier pledge to provide $100 billion a year to help poorer countries cope. Climate change is battering the Indian Ocean island and several U.N. agencies have warned in the past few months of a "climate change famine" there. Rainfall patterns in Madagascar are growing more erratic – they've been below average for nearly six years, said researchers at the University of California at Santa Barbara.

The island of Madagascar is on the brink of a famine the UN says is caused by climate change. Farmers are forced to forage for food as their crops fail to grow.

The tropical storm struck Madagascar's eastern coast at full force. Officials have warned it could inflict "significant and widespread damage."

Madagascar's state disaster relief agency says at least 80 people have died after Cyclone Batsirai hit the island at the weekend, with most deaths occurring in a single area.

The island of Madagascar, just off the east coast of Africa, has been hit by five natural disasters in less than two months, including two major cyclones. More than 200 people have died and 460,000 have been left without shelter. The eastern city of Mananjary has been practically wiped off the map. The remaining 35,000 residents are trying to survive but many have no housing, electricity or clean drinking water. International aid agencies are helping keep them alive. Our correspondents visited what remains of the city.

In Madagascar's south crops regularly fail due to drought and land erosion. For farmers like Kazy Zanapijo pigeon peas, a staple crop in India, are an answer.

Residents and criminal gangs in the country often engage in violence towards one another, often sparked by cattle theft. Security forces have been deployed to search for the culprits.

On August 29, a young albino child was kidnapped and his 21-year-old mother murdered in the remote village of Ambatolampy in south-eastern Madagascar. Recent years have seen a rise in murders of Albinos on the island, with their body parts often used in rituals and ceremonies. The crime triggered a local riot, with an angry mob storming the local police station to kill the apprehended suspects.