Cahier

Food aid and the politics of numbers in Ethiopia

François Enten

François

Enten

Head of Scientific Animation, GRET

Former Head of Mission for Médecins Sans Frontières. In January 2017, François Entend defended his thesis entitled "Les systèmes d’alerte précoce (SAP) en Ethiopie comme jeux d’acteurs, de normes et d’échelles. Fabrique et usage des chiffres de l’aide alimentaire en Ethiopie (2002/2004 et 2016)" at EHESS.

By the same author

Date de publication

05/15/2008

This study sheds light on the mechanisms producing the official data used by humanitarian aid decision makers. It views Early Warning Systems (EWS) as tools that facilitate consensus between the decision-makers involved in the allocation of food aid, enabling them to reach institutional agreements. This argument is strengthened by a socio-theoretical analysis and by ethnographic observation of experts' practice in Ethiopia (2002-2004), whose results of food aid evaluations appear as a combination of empirical and political factors.

Chapters

Introduction

Cartography

PART 1 Early warning systems (EWS)

PART 2 The Ethiopian EWS at ground level: expert practice, statistical production and the influence of politics

Conclusion

APPENDIX. THE MAIN EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS

Abbreviations

Bibliography

early warning systems