The Somalian Famine
SOMALIAN FAMINE 2011
“There is no such thing as an apolitical food problem”, Amartya Sen, Nobel Prize winning Economist. Discuss this statement.
The question of the Somalian Famine has been a subject of regular debate and discussion since July 2011, when the UN first declared an official famine in two specific regions of Somalia. The worst environmental conditions East Africa has experienced in many years, combined with other social and political problems, produced the “worst humanitarian disaster” the world has suffered in several decades, according to the UN. In relation to this topic, Amartya Sen, a renowned economist, commented – “There is no such thing as an apolitical problem”. Sen perfectly defines one of the most important aspects …show more content…
of this issue, saying that such a food problem does not exist in which political factors do not play a vital part. Similarly, environmental and social factors too, are crucial to the causes and mediums of a food problem, in this case the Famine and its rapid spread throughout a country.
From statistics and expert evaluations, it is evident that environmental factors play an important role in this particular case of Famine. Last year, the Horn of Africa, of which Somalia is part, was reported to have experienced the most severe drought in six decades. Normally, Somalia experiences two different monsoon seasons, one in spring/ summer, and the other (usually heavier) one in autumn – this pattern had been quite predictable up until 2011, when the latter monsoon season did not occur in Southern Somalia, an area which is agriculturally vital to the country. This is shown in the following chart:
This extreme environmental condition meant that there was a major lack of water supply to farms and crop-growing areas, which led to a rapid decline in harvest and yield for the year. This eventually caused an imbalance in the demand/ supply ratio of food in Somalian regions, therefore leaving large groups of people, especially the poorest, to go hungry for long periods of time. Demographics also tie in to the discussion here, as people who were less able to exert effort in the search for food, e.g. young children, elderly and sick people, were obliged to remain without for several days while the more able family members tried to gain access. The effects of these environmental factors can be seen to link in with the political aspects of the issue in question.
The main political factors in relation to this issue can be broadly grouped together as conflict, refugee camps and food security.
Most Somalian families who have been hit by the famine have had no choice but to leave their country as refugees, seeking asylum and, more importantly, food, in the many refugee camps of Kenya. One prominent example of these camps is Dadaab, a rapidly-growing population centre in Northern Kenya which is currently accommodating about half a million refugees, many of whom come from Somalia (according to the UN, c.1500 Somali refugees pour into Dadaab everyday). However, Kenya, too has been experiencing serious drought conditions for about two years, and this has led to exhausted, barren fields and the death of livestock, which in turn has decreased supply of food for refugees. This does not, in any way, alleviate food security concerns, which are an even larger problem back in Somalia. The journey to these refugee camps is exhausting, and many die or are assaulted along the way; resources in camps, e.g. food distribution, water, shelter, healthcare, etc. are severely overstretched. However, these camps provide their inhabitants with a sense of security that they did not have in Somalia, where an unstable government and political system led to consistent unrest – “Now at least we have someone to look after us”, said Alisha, a refugee at Dadaab camp. In Somalia, insecurity, human rights violations, and restrictions imosed on aid agencies (by …show more content…
insurgents) serve to worsen the dire situation of the population. In order to combat the negative impact of the famine in 2012, the UNCHR have made decisions to: scale up its famine emergency program; improve distribution of core relief items and emergency shelter; strengthen measures to prevent under-reporting of gender-based violence; and construct more border police posts to tackle human trafficking. From these attempts to alleviate impact of the famine, we can follow a lead into another very important aspect of this humanitarian disaster, which is intrinsically linked with the political aspect: social factors.
One of the most important social aspects of the famine is the role of women in society and agriculture in the Horn of Africa, in this case Somalia.
It is a common sight in these areas to see a congregation of farmers consisting of 80-90% women. Women have remained in their hometowns, tending to crops, while men have gone to look for work in bigger towns and cities. Due to this large number of women currently contributing to farming, it is evident that they are key to revealing the full potential of agricultural development in these deprived countries and thus ensuring food security. Catherine Bertini, an economist who has written a report on this particular issue, said “If the world is to meet the challenge of feeding 9 billion people by 2050, we must invest in the human capital of those with the potential to transform agricultural economies – young women”. It is essential that, by proper investment, we ensure that we are allowing young women to be the mediums of major agricultural and economic change that they have the potential to be. Bertini’s report outlines possible improvements if women were to be given more access to resources such as finance – national agriculture could rise by 1.5%, number of malnourished could by reduced by 5%. However, despite their potential, women are often the most disadvantaged and undervalued in society, being denied productive economic livelihoods. Governments are therefore now expected to nationally mandate primary and secondary education,
especially female education, provide incentives to parents to keep girls in school (through scholarships, reduction/ elimination of fees), etc.
In conclusion, we can say that this extreme humanitarian disaster, occurring in the poorest regions of the world has been developed over time by several factors, the most important ones being environmental, social and political. Each of these factors clearly portrays different problematic aspects of this national disaster, and what impact these aspects are having on the deprived populations of poor countries, e.g. Somalia. Although the definitions of the factors differ slightly from country to country, in taking the example of Somalia, we see that most of the issues are quite general and probably common to most poor countries, e.g. drought, and the question of women’s rights. Therefore, in pointing out the causal and contributing factors of the famine in Somalia, one can define the problems and issues in the ‘big picture’, i.e. all poor countries that are currently in the first few stages of development.
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“There is no such thing as an apolitical food problem”, Amartya Sen, Nobel Prize winning Economist. Discuss this statement.
The question of the Somalian Famine has been a subject of regular debate and discussion since July 2011, when the UN first declared an official famine in two specific regions of Somalia. The worst environmental conditions East Africa has experienced in many years, combined with other social and political problems, produced the “worst humanitarian disaster” the world has suffered in several decades, according to the UN. In relation to this topic, Amartya Sen, a renowned economist, commented – “There is no such thing as an apolitical problem”. Sen perfectly defines one of the most important aspects …show more content…
of this issue, saying that such a food problem does not exist in which political factors do not play a vital part. Similarly, environmental and social factors too, are crucial to the causes and mediums of a food problem, in this case the Famine and its rapid spread throughout a country.
From statistics and expert evaluations, it is evident that environmental factors play an important role in this particular case of Famine. Last year, the Horn of Africa, of which Somalia is part, was reported to have experienced the most severe drought in six decades. Normally, Somalia experiences two different monsoon seasons, one in spring/ summer, and the other (usually heavier) one in autumn – this pattern had been quite predictable up until 2011, when the latter monsoon season did not occur in Southern Somalia, an area which is agriculturally vital to the country. This is shown in the following chart:
This extreme environmental condition meant that there was a major lack of water supply to farms and crop-growing areas, which led to a rapid decline in harvest and yield for the year. This eventually caused an imbalance in the demand/ supply ratio of food in Somalian regions, therefore leaving large groups of people, especially the poorest, to go hungry for long periods of time. Demographics also tie in to the discussion here, as people who were less able to exert effort in the search for food, e.g. young children, elderly and sick people, were obliged to remain without for several days while the more able family members tried to gain access. The effects of these environmental factors can be seen to link in with the political aspects of the issue in question.
The main political factors in relation to this issue can be broadly grouped together as conflict, refugee camps and food security.
Most Somalian families who have been hit by the famine have had no choice but to leave their country as refugees, seeking asylum and, more importantly, food, in the many refugee camps of Kenya. One prominent example of these camps is Dadaab, a rapidly-growing population centre in Northern Kenya which is currently accommodating about half a million refugees, many of whom come from Somalia (according to the UN, c.1500 Somali refugees pour into Dadaab everyday). However, Kenya, too has been experiencing serious drought conditions for about two years, and this has led to exhausted, barren fields and the death of livestock, which in turn has decreased supply of food for refugees. This does not, in any way, alleviate food security concerns, which are an even larger problem back in Somalia. The journey to these refugee camps is exhausting, and many die or are assaulted along the way; resources in camps, e.g. food distribution, water, shelter, healthcare, etc. are severely overstretched. However, these camps provide their inhabitants with a sense of security that they did not have in Somalia, where an unstable government and political system led to consistent unrest – “Now at least we have someone to look after us”, said Alisha, a refugee at Dadaab camp. In Somalia, insecurity, human rights violations, and restrictions imosed on aid agencies (by …show more content…
insurgents) serve to worsen the dire situation of the population. In order to combat the negative impact of the famine in 2012, the UNCHR have made decisions to: scale up its famine emergency program; improve distribution of core relief items and emergency shelter; strengthen measures to prevent under-reporting of gender-based violence; and construct more border police posts to tackle human trafficking. From these attempts to alleviate impact of the famine, we can follow a lead into another very important aspect of this humanitarian disaster, which is intrinsically linked with the political aspect: social factors.
One of the most important social aspects of the famine is the role of women in society and agriculture in the Horn of Africa, in this case Somalia.
It is a common sight in these areas to see a congregation of farmers consisting of 80-90% women. Women have remained in their hometowns, tending to crops, while men have gone to look for work in bigger towns and cities. Due to this large number of women currently contributing to farming, it is evident that they are key to revealing the full potential of agricultural development in these deprived countries and thus ensuring food security. Catherine Bertini, an economist who has written a report on this particular issue, said “If the world is to meet the challenge of feeding 9 billion people by 2050, we must invest in the human capital of those with the potential to transform agricultural economies – young women”. It is essential that, by proper investment, we ensure that we are allowing young women to be the mediums of major agricultural and economic change that they have the potential to be. Bertini’s report outlines possible improvements if women were to be given more access to resources such as finance – national agriculture could rise by 1.5%, number of malnourished could by reduced by 5%. However, despite their potential, women are often the most disadvantaged and undervalued in society, being denied productive economic livelihoods. Governments are therefore now expected to nationally mandate primary and secondary education,
especially female education, provide incentives to parents to keep girls in school (through scholarships, reduction/ elimination of fees), etc.
In conclusion, we can say that this extreme humanitarian disaster, occurring in the poorest regions of the world has been developed over time by several factors, the most important ones being environmental, social and political. Each of these factors clearly portrays different problematic aspects of this national disaster, and what impact these aspects are having on the deprived populations of poor countries, e.g. Somalia. Although the definitions of the factors differ slightly from country to country, in taking the example of Somalia, we see that most of the issues are quite general and probably common to most poor countries, e.g. drought, and the question of women’s rights. Therefore, in pointing out the causal and contributing factors of the famine in Somalia, one can define the problems and issues in the ‘big picture’, i.e. all poor countries that are currently in the first few stages of development.
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