The Next Time The World is Going Downhill: America and the 1983 Ethiopian Famine (original) (raw)

1984: The Parable of Ethiopian Famine and Foreign Aid

Ethiopia has recently resurfaced in international headlines, in light of yet another looming apocalyptic scale famine. The numbers are once again staggering and overwhelming, leading many to proclaim that this is evidence of “history repeating itself”. Hence, underlying the current appeals for international aid are the latter historic experiences with endemic and cyclical bouts of drought and famine in the region. Arguably, then the Ethiopian government is deliberately trying to control the narrative of this current crisis, in light of what has been characterized as the “psychological hangover” from the previous era of Ethiopian famine relief. With headlines made by the engagement of ordinary citizens in the abatement of the tragedy unfolding during the 1984 crisis, and the ensuing memorable steps of the federal government in the allocation of those same resources, it is no wonder that 1984 becomes the modern parable for African famine. For within Canadian consciousness, 1984 continues to serve as the last harbinger of hope. A hope that was the impetus to mobilize many across the world into action to effect a positive, and what was widely believed to be a permanent change.

famine and food aid-final draft.docx

Assignment, 2018

This essay will look closely at the different socio-economic problems that are closely associated with giving food aid and cash as famine relief particularly and solely in Africa on a macro-level scale to the micro level scale. Africa, one way or the other depends on food and cash aid from foreign donors but this aid has been discovered to have done much harm to Africa than the intended help. Problems differ from one type of food aid to the other, the place at which the transaction takes place and whether it be food access problem or availability problem. Such problems include negative effects on commercial food trade, nutritional status of recipients, negative effects local food markets, national economic development and the political system. The examples may include reduction of growth in local market, crowding out, increased conflicts, uneven distribution of resources, failure to achieve sustainability, embezzlement of funds, negative price effect on goods, delay in shipment and delivery, reduction in staple foods, moral hazard and so much more.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold. The End of Food Aid

The paper shows that Food Aid, as a development tool, ends together with the end of cereal production surpluses in the developed countries. The first section examines the forms of Food Aid as defined by DAC of the OECD. The second section builds on the role of cereals as a commodity constituting Food Aid. The third section analyses the evolution of Food Aid in relation to the world cereal market. The fourth section analyses the changes under way at the end of the 1990s. The concluding section shows that only the World Food Programme maintains a leading role in providing emergency Food Aid and that this role is the only one that has a meaning in international development assistance.

Food security and nutrition – the Ethiopian case for action

Public Health Nutrition, 2002

Objective: To assess the 1999-2000 food security situation and the food relief programmes in Ethiopia, and evaluate the need for a national food and nutrition policy. Design: A systematic search of data sources from the Ethiopian Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission (DPPC), the Ethiopian Central Statistical Authority, the World Food Programme (WFP) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the bibliographic database Medline and direct contacts with associations, institutions and people concerned with food security in Ethiopia. Setting: Consultations to WFP Ethiopia. Results: Food availability was severely restricted due to recurrent disasters such as drought, flood, war and a lack of diversity of food items. Food accessibility was limited due to a weak subsistence-agriculture-based economy, depletion of assets, absence of income diversity and a lack of alternative coping mechanisms. Food intake adequacy was rarely achieved due to food shortages, improper diet and poor sanitary conditions. There was a lack of early warning data to monitor food security indicators. Food aid programmes did not meet the requirements for food quantities and composition, and faced major obstacles in logistics and targeting of the vulnerable population. Conclusions: Improvements in food security and the eradication of famine will require investment in sustainable projects. There is an immediate need for better planning and targeting of food aid and a national food security monitoring system. A national food and nutrition policy is recommended, focusing both on relief efforts and on underlying factors contributing to the famine.

Food Aid and the Challenge of Food Security in Africa

Development, 2013

Over the last half a century, food aid has remained one of the main strategies of assisting the hungry in the world, particularly Africa. Despite the positive aspects of food aid, and authorizations of some studies such as Singer who argue that there is no correlation between the receipt of food aid and decrease of domestic agriculture production, many others challenge its effectiveness, targeting, beneficiary selection criteria and post-distribution monitoring strategies. It has also been accused of fostering a dependency. This article examines, whether or not food aid is a help to Africa, politics of food aid in terms of profitability and its impact on the food security in Africa. The article also discusses the role of African leadership in food aid advancement and agriculture production and recommends a way forward in ending hunger.

The 2015–2016 famine threat in Ethiopia: a study of the relevance of famine archetypes

AUC Geographica, 2018

In recent years, Ethiopia has experienced fast economic growth and has been a major recipient of development and humanitarian aid. However, these developments were unsuccessful in eliminating food insecurity problems, and Ethiopia continues to be a considerably famine-prone country. The aim of this paper is to examine the applicability of Howe’s framework of the six archetypal situations symptomatic to famines (watch, price spirals, aid magnet, media frenzy, overshoot, and peaks) to the 2015–2016 food crisis, which left an estimated 15 million Ethiopians in need of acute food assistance. This paper observes that the food crisis proved to have some of Howe’s archetypes including watch, price spirals, and, to a lesser extent, media frenzy and peaks. Even though the aid magnet and overshoot were not recorded, the dynamics of the 2015–2016 food crisis confirmed Howe’s argument that the current system of humanitarian assistance does not lead to timely and effective responses. In this paper, I also argue that the Ethiopian political context further exacerbates the food insecurity situation of the country.

Fighting the Food Crisis: Feeding Africa One Family at a Time

Environs Envtl L. & Pol'y J., 2008

Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development states that the number of poor is rising in sub-Saharan Africa and that 30% of the population lives with "chronic hunger" and that a similar number of children under the age of five are malnourished).

Food and nutrition emergencies in East Africa: Political, economic and environmental associations

2009

Notices 1 Effective January 2007, the Discussion Paper series within each division and the Director General's Office of IFPRI were merged into one IFPRI-wide Discussion Paper series. The new series begins with number 00689, reflecting the prior publication of 688 discussion papers within the dispersed series. The earlier series are available on IFPRI's website at http://www.ifpri.org/category/publication-type/discussion-papers. 2 IFPRI Discussion Papers contain preliminary material and research results. They have not been subject to formal external reviews managed by IFPRI's Publications Review Committee but have been reviewed by at least one internal and/or external reviewer. They are circulated in order to stimulate discussion and critical comment.