We’ve been talking a lot about potential famine in Somalia in Dish recently, and some experts are worried that’s all the international community is doing — talking. This while tens of thousands could die before an official famine declaration is made, losing time and an opportunity to avert the worst before official criteria are met. During Somalia’s last famine in 2011, studies show that half of the 260,000 victims had already died by the time famine was declared.
The World Food Programme’s Arif Husain argues that we need a process that takes hours, not weeks, to address one of the growing causes of famine: war. This makes it difficult to gather the data required for an official declaration, he says.
Others say the current highly technical — and therefore slow — process is necessary to avoid politicization, which Devex has reported evidence of in the past.
About the author
Teresa Welshtmawelsh
Teresa Welsh is a Senior Reporter at Devex. She has reported from more than 10 countries and is currently based in Washington, D.C. Her coverage focuses on Latin America; U.S. foreign assistance policy; fragile states; food systems and nutrition; and refugees and migration. Prior to joining Devex, Teresa worked at McClatchy's Washington Bureau and covered foreign affairs for U.S. News and World Report. She was a reporter in Colombia, where she previously lived teaching English. Teresa earned bachelor of arts degrees in journalism and Latin American studies from the University of Wisconsin.
