Somalia: A man-made famine

Droughts can be mitigated and controlled when a nation has a functioning government. Somalia has not had a functioning central government for more than twenty years. Armed groups -- including the militant group Al Shabab - restricted the international community's access to wide swathes of the country they controlled. Aid agencies struggled to safely reach people inside the country to provide them with assistance. It is also donor governments' own restrictions on aid delivery that have further hampered the international community's ability to respond to the famine, resulting in unnecessary human suffering. Within southern and central Somalia, there are actors unaffiliated with Al Shabab with whom aid organizations can work. But in the areas firmly under Al Shabab's control, the U.S. and other donor governments have to trust that experienced aid organizations will do everything possible to ensure that aid reaches that vulnerable population without significant diversion. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michel-gabaudan/somalia-a-manmade-famine_b_910809.html