Case Study: Famine in the Horn of Africa
- The Horn of Africa is the region in East Africa
- The famine began in this area in 2011, affecting Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia
- It affected roughly 13 million people in the region
- Roughly 250,000 people died in Somalia
- 50% of these were children under the age of five years old
- As of 2023, another acute famine is predicted to arrive
Map of the Horn of Africa
IPC scale
- The IPC scale (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) measures how severe a famine is
- In 2011, parts of East Africa, e.g. Somalia, hit phase 5, a catastrophe
- Other areas, like Kenya, hit phase 3+, where urgent action is required
IPC scale
Causes of the famine
Drought
- Drought was one of the major culprits of the 2011 famine
- The area experienced very low rainfall over several years, leading to extreme drought
- This meant crop growth was impossible
INERT IMAGE HERE
Map of drought-affected areas in 2011 at the Horn of Africa
Conflict
- Parts of the Horn of Africa were experiencing conflict, e.g. in Somalia
- The Siad Barre regime was removed from power in 1991
- Since then, there has been no leading government, causing conflict
- For years, the country has been riddled with Civil War
- Fighting caused damage to crops
- The Al-Shabaab militant group began to rise to power
- This group caused a blockade of food aid during the famine
- Al-Shabaab controlled certain areas, where aid was not allowed in
- Killed aid workers
- Displaced people migrated to Kenya, as a result of the conflict
Poverty
- The countries in the Horn of Africa were already suffering under extreme poverty
- Farmers don’t have access to technologies which may increase productivity
- High population rates and regular food shortages are a recipe for disaster
- Food prices increased massively in 2011, like corn and maize
- This was a result of decreased food supply globally
- The land was used for the growth of biofuel instead of food e.g. US corn ethanol
Responses
- The response to the crisis was incredibly slow, roughly 6 months
- Some donors wanted to see evidence of the crisis, rather than trying to stop it from happening
- Early warning systems detected the crisis in 2010
- By 2011, malnutrition was high
- Oxfam funding appeal:
- Oxfam worked to bring people and emergency support to the area
- Raised over $100 million
- The UN World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) supported relief efforts
- Funds from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) were funnelled into food aid and other vital areas e.g vaccination and sanitation
