Agencies implementing emergency operations are scrambling for resources. Unfortunately, the real tragedy is not just the looming threat of another famine, but the collective amnesia of the important lessons gleaned from past disasters, which leaves institutions unprepared for the next round of droughts and famines. When the threat of famine subsides with the first sign of rain, the policymakers, NGOs, the public in affected countries, and development partners who were concerned about saving lives slide back to lethargy and complacency.
Many return to whatever they were doing before famine struck—running projects, fighting local political adversaries, etc. So with each famine, we start all over again. Why does this happen, and what can we do differently this time to break the cycle? Current situation Humanitarian agencies warn that current conditions could lead to one of the worst disasters in recent memory.
In February, early warning systems indicated significant humanitarian aid would be needed for 20 million people in the four severely affected countries. In contrast, 11 million were affected in the last major famine in Horn of Africa in ; the famine of southern Africa in threatened 14 million. Current relief efforts are not nearly sufficient to meet the needs of affected populations. Pre-famine conditions were already dire: For example, in South Sudan, 31 percent of children under five were stunted low height for age in ; 23 percent were wasted low weight per height even before this crisis , and the recent drought and civil war have only exacerbated the problem.
In general, conflict zones are more vulnerable to famines because they disrupt food systems and divert resources away from the long-term investments required to build food security. Such problems may appear intractable. But in fact, countries such as Ethiopia that have followed right policy paths in the last 20 years have avoided famines even under severe droughts. This suggests that, with the right combination of investments and policies, over time the threat of famine can be significantly reduced.
What causes famines? Famines are the product not only of nature—insufficient rains leading to a failure to produce adequate food and sustain livestock—but of man-made causes, especially a breakdown in the social systems that produce, distribute, and manage food.
Long-term climate change itself a confluence of natural and human effects is a contributing factor to the occurrence of drought that also impairs the functioning of food systems. Wars and other conflicts drive the rich to migrate to safe zones, leaving the poor and the vulnerable behind, and eroding the ability of communities to cope up with the drought-induced food shortages.
These areas also face land degradation, deforestation, and associated environmental damage, compounding the low productivity of their food systems. People can promote democratization by stressing the importance of foreign aid and development assistance to legislators. Democracy may not fill stomachs, but it does help to manage the resources needed to do so.
Though emergency food and water supplies can sustain populations during severe famines, such resources do not prevent future famines. By sending funds instead of food, donor countries can avoid procedural delays and ensure that starving people can afford the food they need to survive. Since conflict broke out one year ago, humanitarian needs are outpacing aid. Here are some of the world's hunger hotspots and the families experiencing extreme hunger.
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Sign up. Thank you for joining! Mobile phone number:. No, thanks. Join us. We can do this. Thank you for joining Want us to keep you updated by text message? Email: Please enter a valid email address. Mobile phone number: Please enter a valid mobile phone number. Sign up Continue. Error code: GLB There was an error processing your form. A mother and her child eat unprocessed sorghum in Rann, northeast Nigeria. The increasing recognition that people weakened by malnutrition are more vulnerable to preventable diseases meant that more resources were allocated to health and hygiene programs, such as vaccination, clean water, and essential supplies for example, soap.
Food stockpiles, including RUTFs, were pre-positioned near areas expected to have the greatest needs. Of course, by far the best solution to famine and other hunger crises is to prevent them in the first place.
The famine in South Sudan and the threatened famines in Somalia, Yemen, and Nigeria are primarily the result of conflict. According to military analysts, these conflicts have no military solutions. They drag on and on, awaiting mediation and political solutions.
Conditions have also been worsened by climate change, as people fight over both shrinking supplies of water, and access to land suitable for growing food or grazing animals.
Prevention also means investing in nutrition so that people are healthier and better able to withstand and recover from crises such as prolonged drought. Strengthening this prevention and early treatment budget would prevent deaths and suffering and, incidentally, reduce the need for emergency food aid.
The need to do more is obvious. Between the and the famines in Somalia, the humanitarian relief sector made valuable progress on effective response. It was with an air of both sadness and disbelief that I myself absorbed the news that we had actually reached this point.
The situation in perhaps warrants even greater sadness and disbelief, because although the countries facing famine have very different contexts and needs, the fact is that we know how to prevent and respond to such crises.
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