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Science 30 January 1987:
Vol. 235. no. 4788, pp. 539 - 545
DOI: 10.1126/science.235.4788.539
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Articles

Famine: Causes, Prevention, and Relief

JOHN W. MELLOR 1 and SARAH GAVIAN 2

1 Director of the International Food Policy Research Institute, 1776 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20036
2 Doctoral student at the Food Research Institute and a research assistant at the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Famines are generally caused by decline in food production in successive years brought about by poor weather, war, or both. The consequent complex interactions between prices, employment, and assets impoverish victims and lead to sharply increased mortality. Government policy is a key determinant as to whether or not these conditions mature into wisespread famine. India and Bangladesh have succeeded in controlling famines in recent years, but problems in most of Africa remain intractable due to civil unrest and a paucity of resources, including trained people, institutions, and infrastructure. General economic development and political consensus is needed to reduce Africa's vulnerability to famine. In this context, judiciously provided foreign aid can be of immense help.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Policy Substitutability in Complex Humanitarian Emergencies: A Model of Individual Choice and International Response.
M. D. McGinnis (2000)
Journal of Conflict Resolution 44, 62-89
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)