| | We need little reminder of the horrific human suffering which famine in Africa has brought. Until recently, the plight of six million in Ethiopia was constantly shown to us by the media but there has been little mention of 100,000 dead in Mozambique, more than 2,000 in Chad, 1.5 million at risk in Mali and two million in Burkina Faso, not to mention loss to crop production and cattle: Niger expects to lose 60 per cent of this year's cereal crop, Ghana had a shortage of 179,000 tons in 1983 and Mauritania has 40-90 per cent cattle loss. A similar picture can be drawn for the countries of southern Africa where Zimbabwe and Botswana in addition to Mozambique have varied in their ability to combat drought for several years. But instead of simply documenting the countries where famine dominates people lives, we need to explain why drought becomes famine and why certain sections of the population, and why some communities rather than others, suffer most from it. |
