ABSTRACT
Famine is not a new phenomenon; there are records of famines in southern India dating from 1054. They have occurred in Sudan from the mid-eighteenth century. Nation states have traditionally seen famine as a threat to their integrity and political stability, and have taken steps to mitigate the worst effects – not so much out of philanthropy as hard-headed political realism. No Sahelian government survived the drought of the 1970s and many fell twice. Today, FAO is assisting over thirty states around the world to develop a famine warning capability and respond to it. In some countries, such as Botswana, this is a recent development; in others, like India, a state warning and response system has been used for over one hundred years.
