Famine in Somalia and the Failure of Data-Driven Humanitarianism

Mohammed Shahin Ali, 14, walks through a field – dried and cracked from lack of rain – in search of grass for his cattle, in the village of Hat Bokoil, in the ‘upazila’ (sub-district) of Nachole, Chapai Nawabganj District. “I look after 19 cows,” Mohammed said. “There is drought everywhere because of lack of rain. I have to walk long distances to find grass for my cattle. It is very difficult. I hope it rains soon.” In October 2009, low-lying Bangladesh remains prone to natural disasters and especially susceptible to the effects of climate change. Localized cyclones and floods affect Bangladesh yearly, while larger scale disasters periodically wreak wider spread havoc. Their impact is exacerbated by endemic problems – including food insecurity, entrenched poverty, malnutrition, pollution and limited access to basic services. The inhabitants of remote, rural areas, further constrained by limited infrastructure, are particularly vulnerable to environmental threats. This is especially the case for the inhabitants of chars – small, sandy islands created, and destroyed, by floods or erosion. Lacking alternate places to live, char inhabitants farm or raise livestock, occupations that are highly vulnerable to seasonal monsoon flooding. Char schools are also threatened by impermanence and attendance is often low; domestic obligations, essential to their families' well-being, take precedence over children’s education. Survival itself is precarious. UNICEF programmes in Bangladesh – in health and nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene, education and child protection – must also increasingly address the mounting effects of climate change.