Famines in Africa

Africa is plagued with famines, many of which are triggered by natural disasters such as drought, locusts, livestock and crop disease. Recently, famines have increasingly been triggered or aggravated by conflict and war. The table below lists some African famines, their causes and estimated mortality statistics.

Year	Location	Causal triggers	Estimated mortality
1902-1908	Nigeria	Drought	5 000
1906-1907	Tanzania	Conflict	37 500
1913-1914	Sahel, West Africa	Drought	125 000
1917-1919	Tanzania	Drought & Conflict	30 000
1922	Zimbabwe	Drought	47
1929	Tanzania	Drought	500
1943-1944	Rwanda	Drought & Conflict	300 000
1949	Malawi	Drought	200
1957-1958	Ethiopia	Drought & Locusts	250 000
1966	Ethiopia	Drought	50 000
1968-1970	Nigeria	Conflict	1 000 000
1969-1974	Sahel, West Africa	Drought	101 000
1972-1975	Ethiopia	Drought	350 000
1974-1975	Somalia	Drought	20 000
1980-1981	Uganda	Drought & Conflict	30 000
1982-1985	Mozambique	Drought & Conflict	100 000
1983-1985	Ethiopia	Drought	800 000
1984-1985	Sudan	Drought	250 000
1988	Sudan	Conflict	250 000
1991-1993	Somalia	Drought & Conflict	400 000
1998	Sudan	Drought & Conflict	70 000
2003-2008	Zimbabwe???	Land reform???
2003-	Sudan	Drought & Conflict

Africa has the potential to eradicate famines. All that is required is political will and long-term commitment by national governments, regional bodies and the international community. Otherwise, many Africans will die or be pushed further into poverty and food insecurity in famines that can be prevented.

Poverty, Food Security and the Environment

Are poor people forced to degrade their environment in order to cope with food insecurity?

When hard times threaten poor people’s food security, they employ coping strategies to meet their immediate food needs, increase their disposable income, and preserve their asset portfolios. Some of these strategies are: over harvesting wild foods (leaves, roots and game meat); cutting trees to make charcoal for sale; clearing forests for cultivation; draining swamps and encroaching on other marginal areas; and over grazing. These activities have detrimental effects on the environment, particularly causing soil erosion and degradation. These problems are worsened by population pressure.

Are the poor people unaware of the consequences of their actions on the environment? They are most likely aware but often have no better alternative. For example a poor person who has to choose between selling his livestock and cutting trees to make charcoal will choose the latter. To the poor person, meeting an immediate need takes preference over a longer-term one.

Is it possible to create a sustainable food secure environment without undermining or destabilising the natural environment and resource base? Are the tradeoffs between food security and the environment reconcilable? Can environmental protection be achieved without destabilising the livelihoods of the poor people who depend on the environment for their survival?