Preventing Famine
IMF Podcasts, December 15, 2011
Source details
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- Preventing Famine
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Bibliographic details
- Published: December 15, 2011
Episode overview
- Date: December 15, 2011
- Theme: Examination of why the disaster in the Horn of Africa was not foreseen despite prior investments in early warning systems.
- Context provided: After the dire food shortages almost 25 years ago in Ethiopia, American aid helped implement an early warning system aimed at forecasting likely food emergencies.
Key questions and analysis
- Why wasn't the disaster in the Horn of Africa foreseen despite existing early warning systems?
- Implicit analytical focus:
- Effectiveness and limitations of early warning systems established after the Ethiopia famine.
- The gap between forecasting and timely, effective response to food emergencies.
Participants and perspectives
- Mwangi Kimenyi, Brookings Institute
- Josette Sheeran, UN World Food Program
- Ray Offenheiser, Oxfam America
- Njuguna Ndung'u, Kenyan Central Bank Governor
Production and presentation
- Host/Producer: Bruce Edwards, International Monetary Fund
- Notes: Bruce Edwards produces the IMF podcast program; award-winning audio producer and journalist; has covered armed conflicts, social unrest, and natural disasters; believes economists have an important role in solving the world's problems and aims to showcase their research in every IMF podcast.
- Contributor: Rhoda Metcalfe, independent journalist and audio producer
Visual caption
- "Young Somali woman holding her malnourished child. The famine has affected thousands in the region (Stuart Price/UN/handout)"