Avoiding Another Famine in the Horn of Africa

The Rift Valley Institute published in February 2017 a summary of a discussion titled "Drought in the Horn of Africa Roundtable" by Amina Abdulkadir. Drawing on the lessons of the Somali famine in 2011, it urges a better international response for countering new drought conditions in the Horn of Africa, especially in Somalia.

Somalia: Food Security, Remittances, and Counterterrorism

The Africa Research Institute published on 21 July 2014 a summary of a discussion on threats to Somali food security, remittances, and counterterrorism.  The participants were Degan Ali, executive director of Adeso, Sara Pantuliano, director, Humanitarian Policy Group at ODI, and Abdirashid Duale, CEO of Dahabshiil. 

Concerning food security, the participants said Somalia is on the brink of another famine.  They said there is a direct relationship between remittances and food security in Somalia.  An estimated $1.3 billion is remitted to Somalia from the diaspora each year.  They argued that counterterrorism legislation in the West has severely hampered relief efforts in Somalia and threatened remittance flows.

Somalia: Lessons Learned from the 2011 Famine

The Feinstein International Center at Tufts University published in August 2014 a report titled "Another Humanitarian Crisis in Somalia? Learning from the 2011 Famine" by Daniel Maxwell and Nisar Majid. 

Early warning agencies suggest the number of people in crisis in Somalia is likely to reach 1 million before the end of 2014.  Drawing on the lessons of the 2011-2012 famine, the paper highlights the causes of the famine, early warning and response, divisions within the humanitarian community, and the on-going role of al-Shabaab.  It offers four policy recommendations.