More than 10 million people in southernAfrica-Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swazilan, Zambia, andZimbabwe-are currently threatened with famine, with thecrisis being particularly severe in Malawi, Zambia andZimbabwe. The immediate causes of the food shortage, namelyof maize, the region's staple crop, are drought,flooding, and low levels of planting. However, what has madethese countries so vulnerable to famine is chronic poverty,inadequate development policies and, in some cases, poorgovernance. Shocks such as drought bring collapse only tosystems that are already weakened by these factors. The keyto preventing food shortages and possibly famine, therefore,is effective and appropriate food security policies andresponsible governance. Policies for mitigating the effectsof a critical food shortage or famine lie on a spectrumranging from immediate relief to recovery to initiatingdevelopment. Preventing future famines requires long-termdevelopment policies. In addressing the crisis, policymakersshould design measures that not only provide relief, butwhich alsolay the foundations for development.Interventions must be combined and sequenced with eachother, depending on a country's context, to generatethe greatest possible short- and long-term benefits.Described here are policy approaches, that IFPRI research inAfrica has shown to be effective in mitigating severe foodshortage and enabling development.
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