HIE 1

THE UN HAS DESIGNATED THE HORN OF AFRICA AS A FAMINE ZONE.

EXPLAIN THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND HUMAN GEOGRAPHY FACTORS

THAT CONTRIBUTE TO CONSTANT FAMINE CRISIS IN AFRICA

Henry Ifeanyichukwu Emmanuel

Test-Task

Date: 31, March, 2019

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Outline

i. Introduction

ii. Environmental and human geography factors that contribute to constant

famine crises in Africa.

iii. Conclusion
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Introduction

If left unchecked, the hunger crisis in Africa might escalate into a global problem.

According to the UN (2003) report, "On a scale not seen in Africa in nearly two

decades, famine is once again stalking the continent. According to estimates by

the UN's World Food Programme (WFP), as many as 38 million Africans are

living under the threat of starvation, and many will succumb if emergency relief

does not reach them in time. As of mid-2002, famine conditions were

concentrated mainly in Southern Africa, but by the end of the year had emerged

just as severely in the Horn of Africa and on a lesser scale in several countries in

West and Central Africa".

Famine is referred to as the scarcity of food on a wide scale, which is caused by

factors such as excessive population, inflation, unhealthy government policies,

crisis and failure of cultivated crops. Some of the effects of famine include;

malnutrition, famishment, the outbreak of diseases, which leads to an increased

mortality rate. The crisis of global famine dates as far back as 1708BC where the

nations of the world came to Egypt to purchase food in order to guarantee their

existence. In the 19th and 20th century, South-East Asia, South Asia, Eastern,

and Central Europe were the most hit by famine, which resulted in an increased

death rate, which later dropped from the 2000s. In contemporary times, the Horn

of African and Africa as a whole has been adversely affected by famine for long,

which led to a warning issued by the United Nations (UN) stating that "Some 20

million are at risk in South Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria, and Yemen" (Sen, 1982).
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The Horn of Africa is a term used to connote countries that consist of this region

and they include; Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia. It is also referred to

North-East African Peninsula, which extends hundreds of kilometers into the sea

of Arabian and along the South – East part of the Gulf of Aden.

There are several factors responsible for famine in the Horn of Africa; these

factors can be classified into environmental and human geography. The

environmental factors include drought and infection. While human geography

include; war and war-related policies (AWP, 1988).

Drought. The Horn of Africa is known to have a persistent challenge of drought.

According to Hewitt (1983) who stated that "In Ethiopia between the periods of

1953-1984 there had been a total of 13 years of drought when rainfall fell below

normal. In 1984 the country experienced the worst drought ever when rainfall

deviated to almost -45 cm. between the 5 years period of 1980-84 alone, there

was for years of rainfall deficit in Ethiopia." It is obvious that the persistent

challenge of drought in this region is responsible for famine.

Infection. According to Annan (2003), who noted that "Most of the Southern

African countries now hit by drought are also batting serious AIDS epidemics.

‘This is no coincidence: AIDS and famine are directly linked.' One way they are

liked, he pointed out is through the role of Africa's women, who provide most

agricultural labor and have long been at the center of communities' efforts to

adapt to famine conditions." As AIDS erodes the strength of the workforce of this

region, it affects their ability to produce enough food to feed them let alone feed

the nation (De Waal, 1989).

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War and War-Related Policies. The civil war in Africa is the fundamental cause

of famine in the region. Civil war distorts the balance between survival and

starvation. Substantial money, which could be used to implement all-round

farming programmes are used instead in the purchase of sophisticated

ammunition for the purpose of fighting a civil war. According to Silveard (1985),

"In relation to the budget, 50% (the highest) of Ethiopia 1988 budget was also

allocated to defense at the expense of viable economic sectors. In Ethiopia

during the period 1970-79 the defense budget alone increased by 388% (the US

$66 million to 322 million) while the total budget itself increased only by 190%. It

was also reported during the 100th U.S. Congressional Hearings on Famine in

Ethiopia in 1990 that the country spends a total of US $4 billion on arm

purchased alone during 1980-89."

Conclusion

Famine in the Horn of Africa and in Africa as a whole is a crisis that calls for

urgent attention from global stakeholders to ensure that the fight against it is

won, because failure to defeat it in Africa will result in problem(s) to other parts of

the world, such problem is the increase in migration of people from Africa

seeking for food elsewhere.

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WORK CITED

Annan, J. (2003). PrevenJing Famine: Policies and Prospects for Africa. New
York: Routledge. 16 Feb. 2003.
<https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/february-2003/famine-
spreads-across-africa>

De Waal, A. (1989). Famine that kills, Darfur, Sudan. 1984-85. Oxford:

Clarendon Press. PDF file. 22 Jun. 2007. <https://msaag.aag.org/wp-
content/uploads/2013/04/22_Djabatey.pdf>

Hewitt, K. (1983). Interpreting the role of hazards in agriculture. In InJerpreting of

calamity from the view point of Human Ecology. ed. Hewitt K. Boston:
Allen and Unwin. PDF file. 22 Jun. 2007. <https://msaag.aag.org/wp-
content/uploads/2013/04/22_Djabatey.pdf>

Sen, A. (1982). Poverty and Famine. Oxford: Clarendon Press. PDF file. 22 Jun.
2007. <https://msaag.aag.org/wp-
content/uploads/2013/04/22_Djabatey.pdf>

Sivard, S. L. (1985). 10th Anniversary Edition of World Military and Social

Expenditure. Leesburg, Va: World Priorities. PDF file. 22 Jun. 2007.
<https://msaag.aag.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/22_Djabatey.pdf>

UN (2003). Rural vulnerability to famine in Ethiopia. London: Intermediate

Teclmology Publication. 16 Feb. 2003.
<https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/february-2003/famine-
spreads-across-africa>