ETHIOPIAN FAMINE OF 1984 - 1985

Ethiopian Famine of 1984 - 1985

Table of Contents

Introduction1

Background1

Famine in Theory2

Malthusian Theory2

Sen's Entitlement Theory3

de Waal's Health Crisis Theory4

War5

Famine6

Government Response to Famine and War9

International Famine Relief/Aid10

Analysis11

Conclusion14

References16

Ethiopian Famine of 1984 - 1985

Introduction

This essay will address the impact of war on the causation and relief of the Ethiopian Famine of 1984-85. It will first outline the theories associated with famine including theories from Malthusian, Sen and De Waal. It will then move on to discuss the various conflicts that Ethiopia was involved in, the famine itself and how the government responded and dealt with the conflicts, famine and the associated relief. Analysis and conclusions will then be drawn.

Background

The concept of famine can be defined as a situation of severe shortage for food, as through crop failure, and that result from violent hunger and starvation and death. It has been observed that people in 20th century died of famine and the number for deaths for much greater than other time in the previous centuries. Regardless of the fact that the current era is not likely to surpass the milestone, it is expected that famines will be man-made for most of the time.

Equally, however, many argue that in no preceding century has famine been more avertable. As a result, various observers assert that it is now social, not technological or natural, obstacles that impede famine prevention. Ethiopia has been a perfect example of this. In 1984-85, a terrible famine, caused by a combination of civil war, drought, population resettlement, and government policy, struck the northern highlands. “Estimates of the number of people who died as a result of this famine range from 500,000 to one million.” (Kidane, 1990)

Famine in Theory

Malthusian Theory

Malthusian theory is a powerful mechanism characterized by stagnation in many aspects. In terms of real wage, the living condition of the English in early 13th century is the same as their offspring's in the beginning of 19th century. For the 600 years in between, real incomes fluctuated around a constant level. In terms of wheat equivalents, the English day wage in 1780-1800 is even lower than the day wage in the Ancient Babylonia in 1800-1600 BC. Population in the pre-industrial England was generally negatively correlated with real income level. An increase in income usually led to a population boom, soon reducing the income to the previous low level because of higher population pressure. The decrease in income subsequently leads to reduction in population. On the other hand, natural disasters such as the Black Death could ironically boost the welfare of the survivors, as real income tends to rise with a shrinking population.

The stagnation in Malthusian economies was not only limited to output and demography. The technological progress during the Malthusian period was extremely slow. There were indeed some great inventions of tremendous potential in the pre-industrial era. But none of them turned into success. In history books, we often run into documentations of technological advances followed by regresses.

Another aspect of Malthusian stagnation is the production ...