A Dangerous Delay. The cost of late response to early warnings in the 2011 drought in the Horn of Africa

This new report from Oxfam and Save the Children “A Dangerous Delay: The cost of late response to early warnings in the 2011 drought in the Horn of Africa” says how tens of thousands of lives could have been spared in the 2011 drought in the Horn of Africa if the international community hadn’t failed to heed the warnings of the impending emergency predicted by relief agencies. Figures compiled by the Department for International Development (DfID) suggest that between 50,000 and 100,000 people, more than half of them children under five, died in the 2011 Horn of Africa crisis that affected Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. More than 13 million people, most of them women and children, have been affected. This briefing examines the factors that allowed a drought in the Horn of Africa to develop into a full-scale crisis of hunger and livelihoods. While recognising the ultimate importance of enhancing the resilience of communities themselves, the primary focus of this briefing is the response of the international system. The report makes a series of recommendations, including improved risk-reduction strategies, greater funding flexibility, and preventative humanitarian work.