Today we had an IASC event on Learning from the 2011 famine in Somalia. Thanks to the presenters and to everyone who was able to join the meeting. The presentation by Dan Maxwell, Nisar Majid and Janet Kim shed light upon findings from their study of the 2011 famine in Somalia and was followed by a discussion session. Key points: - causal factors of the famine: Drought caused a production failure on the ground; increase in global food prices added an element of market failure. The conflict and rule of Al-Shabaab, counter-terror legislation and restricted humanitarian access were factors affecting response failure. - General consensus that early warning was accurate and timely but the response was late partly due to risk aversion. The crucial question now, with a new crisis approaching in Somalia, is: will the response be different and faster? Please have a look at the IASC Early Warning Report prepared by the IASC Task Team on Preparedness and Resilience, shared on the IASC website. Somalia is highlighted in the report as being in a state of very high risk of drought within the next six months (see page 16 of the report).
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 21:41:25 +0000