UPSC Prelims 2018 Q18: Current Affairs – Disasters & Humanitarian Issues
- (a) Angola and Zambia
- (b) Morocco and Tunisia
- (c) Venezuela and Colombia
- (d) Yemen and South Sudan
Answer: (d) Yemen and South Sudan
Explanation
Recent Famine and Starvation Emergencies (as of 2018)
| Country pair | Recent famine/starvation? | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| (a) Angola and Zambia | NO | Southern African countries with cyclical droughts but not the acute war-driven famine of 2017-18. |
| (b) Morocco and Tunisia | NO | Middle-income North African countries; no famine crisis. |
| (c) Venezuela and Colombia | NO | Venezuela had a food crisis (hyperinflation), but Colombia did not have famine; this was primarily economic collapse, not war-driven famine. |
| (d) Yemen and South Sudan | YES | Yemen (Houthi-Saudi war since 2015) and South Sudan (civil war since 2013) were flagged by UN OCHA/FAO in 2017-18 as facing the world's worst hunger crises. South Sudan declared famine in Unity State (Feb 2017). Yemen faced worst cholera outbreak on record and mass acute malnutrition. |
Answer: (d) Yemen and South Sudan.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Incorrect. Angola and Zambia face periodic droughts but not the war/conflict-driven mass starvation of the 2017-18 crises.
- (b) Incorrect. Morocco and Tunisia are not associated with famine emergencies.
- (c) Incorrect. Venezuela had a hyperinflation-driven food crisis, not the war/ethnic-conflict famine described here; Colombia had no famine.
- (d) CORRECT. Yemen and South Sudan were the UN-flagged worst famines of 2017-18, driven by armed conflict.
Key point
2017-18 famine hotspots: Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia, north-east Nigeria - all conflict-driven. South Sudan officially declared famine in Feb 2017 (Unity State). Yemen: worst cholera + malnutrition crisis on record.
Remember
In 2017-18, Yemen and South Sudan faced the world's most severe hunger crises. South Sudan formally declared famine in Unity State in February 2017 (the first UN-declared famine since 2011). Yemen, ravaged by war since 2015, suffered acute malnutrition and the worst cholera outbreak on record. Both crises were principally caused by armed conflict, not drought.
Common mistakes
- Confusing food crises (Venezuela hyperinflation) with formally declared famines (UN IPC Phase 5).
- Missing that famine in the modern era is almost always man-made / conflict-driven, not purely climatic.
- Forgetting the UN's IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) framework - only Phase 5 is 'famine'.
Exam tip
Famine = IPC Phase 5 (catastrophe). Modern famines correlate with war (Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia). If a question mentions 'lakhs of people, war/ethnic conflict, starvation' expect Yemen/South Sudan.
Sources
- United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs — Global Humanitarian Overview 2018
- FAO/WFP - Crop Prospects and Food Situation, 2018