National Geographic Explorer Dr. Christopher Golden and his team of Harvard Planetary Health Scholars spent six weeks in Madagascar to better understand the human health impacts of environmental change. This series of stories will document this journey across Madagascar through their personal experiences.

This video showcases life near the Makira Natural Park of northeastern Madagascar, highlighting work that MAHERY (Madagascar Health and Environmental Research) has been doing to stave off bushmeat hunting while supporting the nutritional needs of the community. Local Malagasy people prefer the taste of chicken but do not have easy access to it because it is prohibitively expensive and often victim to disease. Newcastle Disease Virus is a preventable disease affecting poultry that can wipe out entire flocks in a short time. This work has been done in collaboration with the Wildlife Health Network and IMVAVET, and with generous support from St. Louis Zoo WildCare Institute, among other partners. We hope that the dissemination of an effective vaccine will stabilize food security in the region.