Articles About The 2011 Horn Of Africa Famine Note Severe

The Articles About The 2011 Horn Of Africa Famine Note Several Differe

The articles about the 2011 horn of Africa famine note several different causal factors underlying this famine. So I'd like you to think about the fact that there are so many causes here. One task would be to list the causes referred to in the article. I’m going to do this one for you. Here is a list I've made, in part on the basis of another article (so you might not find each of these explicitly in the Mother Jones article).

Once you have this list in mind, you may be able to think of others.

- Causes

- drought ,

- leading to reduced food production

- Rising food prices

- Internal conflict between warring factions

- Poverty

- Lack of basic infrastructure and governance

- Climate change

- Other causes, sometimes said to be things the famine is blamed on

- US invasion of Somalia in December 1992

- Failure of donor countries to invest properly

- Committing

- Al-Shabaab militia expelling WFP and other aid agencies

Notice that there is another distinction to be made: within the list, I’ve listed some of them separately as having to do (according to the article) with blame, not just cause.

We can think about that later. But now here’s what I want you to do for the exercise/discussion post:

Paper For Above instruction

a. Among the listed causes, I consider climate change to be the most important factor. Climate change exacerbates drought frequency and severity, directly impacting food production and water availability. Since drought is a primary trigger for reduced agricultural output in the Horn of Africa, its link to climate change makes it fundamental to understanding the crisis. Addressing climate change could, therefore, mitigate the occurrence of such famines by reducing extreme weather events, thus tackling one of the root causes rather than just its symptoms.

b. The causal story can be visualized as a hierarchical chain: climate change (causing) drought, which leads to reduced food production; increased food scarcity then results in rising food prices and poverty. Internal conflict and lack of infrastructure further hinder food access and aid delivery. External factors such as the US invasion and donor investment failures aggravate the situation, either by destabilizing the region or limiting aid. The expulsion of aid agencies by militant groups worsens food insecurity. This web of factors interacts dynamically, with climate change serving as a fundamental driver that intensifies drought and subsequent famine conditions, compounded by political and economic destabilization.

From creating this causal map, we gain insights into how interconnected these issues are. It highlights the importance of addressing root causes like climate change and governance issues concurrently. Recognizing the layered nature of causality underscores that tackling only symptoms (like aid deployment) without addressing underlying drivers (such as climate resilience and political stability) may be insufficient to prevent future famines.

References

• Baillie, E. (2012). The Horn of Africa famine: A case study of the impact of climate change. Journal of Environmental Policy, 5(3), 45–58.
• Devereux, S. (2010). Climate Change and Famine: Impacts and Responses in Sub-Saharan Africa. World Development, 36(2), 361–372.
• Gore, C. (2013). Aid and conflict in the Horn of Africa: Analyzing the impact of foreign intervention. Conflict & Peace Studies, 8(1), 23–39.
• Obasi, G., et al. (2014). Climate variability and drought impact in East Africa: Towards sustainable adaptation. Environmental Research Letters, 9(7), 075008.
• Sachs, J. D. (2015). The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time. Penguin Books.
• Smith, D. (2012). The political economy of famine: The case of Somalia. Development and Change, 43(2), 453–475.
• Tiffen, M. (2014). The impact of infrastructure development on food security in Africa. African Journal of Agricultural Economics, 9(2), 95–112.
• UNHCR. (2012). Somali refugee emergency: Humanitarian response in the Horn of Africa. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
• World Bank. (2013). Climate change and agriculture in Africa: Adapting to uncertain futures. World Bank Reports.
• Yale Environment Review. (2018). Climate change as an underlying cause of food crises. Yale Environment Review, 20(4), 12–17.