Drought and looming famine affecting people in Doolow, a border town Doolow with Ethiopia, Somalia, March 20, 2017. Xinhua/SIPA USA/PA Images. All rights reserved.Six years ago there were fears of a transnational famine developing across much of eastern Africa. At least 11 million people were at risk in what might have been the worst disaster of its kind since the early 1970s (see "A world in hunger: east Africa and beyond", 21 July 2011).
This impending crisis was not unforeseen.
This impending crisis was not unforeseen. An analysis of several interlocking factors, already evident several years earlier, had anticipated such an outcome (see "The world's food insecurity", 24 April 2008). These factors included higher oil prices, the early impact of climate change, increased demand for feed grains to boost meat production for the richer countries, and the diversion of land to grow biofuels.
