Improving responses to hunger in southern Africa

The number of food shortages in southern Africa over the last five years indicates a long term decline in people’s ability to support themselves. The humanitarian response has been largely appropriate to relieve immediate suffering. However, a better understanding of the causes of these crises must inform policies and programmes to achieve food security in the longer term.

Food crises are complex. Harvest failures may trigger food insecurity, but other factors play a significant role. These include the increasing levels of extreme poverty, HIV/AIDS, and weaknesses in regional governance. These causes vary significantly within and among countries. A review commissioned by leading non-governmental agencies working in Southern Africa examines the progress made in understanding and responding appropriately to food insecurity in southern Africa.

Humanitarian responses aim to save lives, alleviate suffering and maintain human dignity during a crisis. They can be distinguished from development aid, which address the underlying socioeconomic factors leading to a crisis. Humanitarian agencies also tend to focus on acute or severe food crises arising in the short term, rather than addressing widespread, long term hunger.

Southern Africa has experienced a succession of food crises since 2001. The large-scale humanitarian response was probably largely successful in saving lives and livelihoods in the short term. Nevertheless, it has not tackled the causes of food insecurity. Most agencies are well aware of this, and there has been much progress in developing a better understanding of the complex causes and effects of the crises.

Less progress, however, has been made on turning this understanding into practical programmes – although some innovations have been tried, including:

• Some organisations piloted cash transfers instead of food transfers, with varying success.
• There has been improved networking and coordination between organisations in responding to emergencies.
• More of the responses to food crises took place within the structures of development programmes: emergency responses and social protection measures (such the Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Support Office).
• Encouraged by the United Nations, governments have begun to introduce disaster risk reduction measures, although these have been limited.

Another new development has been Vulnerability Assessment Committees (VACs), which provide information on hunger and how to better manage crises. Due to the difficulty in influencing political decisions, however, VACs have been limited to technical recommendations in response to food needs.

Ultimately, the humanitarian response cannot substitute for long-term development. Key recommendations for humanitarian agencies include:

• shifting to more predictable modes of long-term assistance (for example, delivering basic services and empowering women)
• national governments and their development partners overcoming differences through more open debate, including about how food markets should be managed to limit food insecurity
• scaling up successful pilot programmes with the support of governments, which must aim to establish, for example, social protection programmes in the long term
• improving the technical quality of VAC analysis, although they will only have a  political impact if accountability and responsibility for food security exists at the national level.

Source(s):
‘Food Security in Southern Africa: Changing the Trend?’, Natural Resources Perspective Paper 106, ODI: London, by Nick Maunder and Steve Wiggins, 2006 (PDF) Full document.
‘Food security in Southern Africa. Changing the trend. Review of lessons learnt on food security responses in Southern Africa’, Report for OXFAM (GB), World Vision International, CARE, RHVP and OCHA, by Nick Maunder and Steve Wiggins, 2006 (PDF) Full document.

Funded by: OXFAM UK; World Vision International USA; CARE; Regional Hunger and Vulnerability Programme (South Africa)

id21 Research Highlight: 12 October 2007

Further Information:
Steve Wiggins
Overseas Development Institute
111 Westminster Bridge Road
London, SE1 7JD
UK

Tel: +44 (0)20 79220300
Fax: +44 (0)20 79220399
Contact the contributor: s.wiggins@odi.org.uk

Overseas Development Institute, UK

Other related links:
id21 insights 61 'Achieving food security: what next for sub-Saharan Africa?'

'Cash not food: new emergency response trialed in Southern Africa'

'Food aid that supports development: searching for appropriate policies'