Planning for the future
Year: 2006
The crippling famines of the 1970s and 1980s in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) prompted
the development of national and regional early warning systems (EWS) across the
continent. Generally, these systems have been effective in alerting countries and
donors to impending food crises largely in the context of seasonal droughts, helping
to mitigate adverse impacts. There are, however, important exceptions that suggest
that inadequate early warning analysis, together with poor communication and
ineffective coordination and response mechanisms, have often contributed to acute
food security emergencies that might have been prevented. In addition, several key
emerging issues pose increasing challenges to EWS in SSA, including the continued
susceptibility of African agriculture to climatic variability and other hazards, the
vulnerability of millions of chronically impoverished and malnourished households
to a variety of threats, and the impacts of economic liberalization and globalization
on African households.
Theme: Food security and nutrition
Publication type: Country case study
ISBN: 30724