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Modern World History 1.4 Government Produced Famine in Africa 70 Views
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Description:
Famine is one of the biggest problems in Africa. Find out why it's such a complex problem, and what's being done to combat it.
Transcript
- 00:04
Africa has problems. You know it, we know it, the little green men on Mars probably know it, too. [Africa on a globe, stamped with the sign - PROBLEM]
- 00:10
Which of Africa's problems is the worst? Corruption?
- 00:14
War? Terrorism? Poverty? Disease? [images of photographs flashing on screen]
- 00:18
Environmental degradation? Well, they're all pretty bad, but perhaps the issue we...
- 00:22
can most viscerally connect with is the problem of famine.
Full Transcript
- 00:26
No one wants to be hungry. Heck, our tummies start to rumble if we go more than a couple... [students sitting in a classroom]
- 00:30
of hours without a snack break. Famine, however, is far worse...
- 00:33
than the ordinary hunger we all experience 15 minutes before mom and dad put dinner...
- 00:37
on the table. According to the paper pushers at the UN, there has to be an... [a man serving pizza to a woman]
- 00:41
extreme shortage of food over a large geographical area...
- 00:44
in order for the UN to declare a famine. And no,
- 00:48
not having a McDonald's within five miles of your home doesn't qualify as extreme food shortage. [a woman going to Mc Donalds]
- 00:52
Just to give you some perspective, 64,000 people a day...
- 00:56
would have to die of starvation in the United States in order for a famine to be...
- 01:01
declared here. You might think that acts of nature cause famines, and you'd be right. [picture of American flag and a white flag with the sign FAMINE]
- 01:05
For example, the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s...
- 01:08
got started thanks to a nasty fungus that ruined the only food... [a man standing in a farm]
- 01:12
that many Irish could afford to eat. However, Mother Earth can't foot all the blame...
- 01:16
for the famines of the past and present. Humans contribute to food insecurity, too...
- 01:21
because of course we do. For example, human factors like a lack of agricultural infrastructure, [someone digging with a shovel]
- 01:27
war, conflict, and unstable food prices fuel the flames of famine. We know about...
- 01:32
these factors because many of the great famines of the past... [woman in a vegetable market]
- 01:34
like the Great Chinese Famine of 1959 - 61, and the famines...
- 01:38
in Russia in the Soviet Union in the first... [a black and white image of Great Chinese Famine in 1959 - 1961]
- 01:40
half of the 20th century, occurred during times of war, conflict,
- 01:44
and political upheaval. What's interesting is that almost...
- 01:47
all of the famines of the last 50 or 60 years have taken place... [image of world map]
- 01:50
in Africa. On this continent, conflict, climate change, and...
- 01:54
donor politics, a.k.a. the West's failure to respond or refusal... [a child standing outside a small house made of bricks]
- 01:58
to respond to a crisis, in combination with other factors, like a reliance on...
- 02:02
subsistence agriculture, cause serious and persistent food insecurity.
- 02:07
Fortunately, Obi-Wan Kenobi isn't Africa's only hope. The development arm of... [a green board with some details written on it]
- 02:11
the US government has a famine early warning system now that can...
- 02:15
look at all the complex roots of famine, and put out a prediction of... [a small red screen flashing a sign - WARNING FAMINE]
- 02:19
where and when a famine might occur. Once we're armed with this information,
- 02:23
there are a number of potential solutions we can use to combat food security, [an aircraft on a runway and a man holding a sheet of paper]
- 02:27
including humanitarian food aid, infrastructure improvements, and...
- 02:31
market access for local farmers to sell their stuff. And the Purchase... [woman in a vegetable market]
- 02:35
for Progress Project. Try saying that three times fast.
- 02:39
Of course, since we live in a democracy, many in the US also theorize that increased democratization... [man in a suit offering a basket full of vegetables to a child]
- 02:44
in Africa could lessen the occurrence of severe food shortages. Well, famine is a complex problem,
- 02:49
and solving Africa's food insecurity issues will never be as easy as a walk in the local... [two men dressed in a suit standing in a local grocery store]
- 02:53
park or your local grocery store. But famine in Africa is solvable...
- 02:57
all we need is the will to make hunger a thing of the past. [Spiderman in a grocery store]
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