A / A / A

famine

Couverture du livre Niger 2005, une catastrophe si naturelle
Book

Niger: A Not-So Natural Disaster

Twenty years after the charity concerts for the Sahel Nigerien politicians, institutional donors, aid agencies and humanitarian organisations clashed on the nature and substance of the crisis affecting Niger in 2005. Identifying the causes of, and adequate responses to, the situation also gave rise to profound disagreements. Having set up their most ambitious emergency nutrition programme to date, Médecins Sans Frontières found itself at the forefront of these controversies.

Humanitarianism in the Modern World
Post de blog

Humanitarianism in the Modern World. The moral economy of famine relief

“Humanitarianism in the Modern World. The moral economy of famine relief” published by Cambridge University Press, is an open access book written by a team of three people, whose aim is to provide a history of contemporary humanitarianism through the prism of famines. Norbert Götz, Georgina Brewis and Steffen Werther are treading on fertile ground, as the number of publications on the history of humanitarianism has multiplied in recent years. However, the contribution they present here is rich and original.

 

Deux femmes transportent des branches d'arbre, camp de Dagahaley, Kenya, 2009
Dossier

Famine: political implications and operational responses

The articles and essays in this publication discuss the specific context in which famines arise and the responses mobilised to address them. MSF has been involved in a number of famine responses (Uganda 1980, Ethiopia 1984-1985, Somalia 1991-1993) and has contributed to many chronic and acute malnutrition operations (Niger, Sudan and Ethiopia in particular in the 2000s). As theses famines were systematically related to armed conflict, the political implications are particularly significant and consequently, feature as a common theme in most of the analyses.

During the violent period of clan warfare in Somalia, which followed the ousting of the Siad Barre regime in 1991, the health care system along with all state services, collapsed.
Speaking out case study

Somalia 1991-1993: Civil War, Famine Alert and a UN “Military-Humanitarian” Intervention

The ‘Somalia 1991-1993: Civil War, Famine Alert and a UN "Military-Humanitarian" Intervention‘ case study is describing the difficulties and dilemmas met by MSF during the first years that it was committed to helping the Somali people.

Food distribution in Mogadishu, Somalia
Post de blog

Somalia and the International Status Quo in Refugee Management: When is the right time to say the big F word?

Humanitarian assistance has become entangled with migration and security agendas. Indeed, most humanitarian assistance in Somalia and in refugee camps is subordinated and in support of these two agendas.