THE CAUSES.

ABSENT GOVERNMENT.

Somalia, a country of 9.3 million, has been without a functioning government since 1991. So, it is no accident that Somalia has suffered the blunt of the current food crisis in the Horn of Africa. There has been many signed and forgotten peace treaties among rival warlords. There has also been repeated attempts to establish a central unity government since 2000. In 2004, through a peace negotiation in Kenya, the Transitional Federal Government was established. It was composed of unelected clan representatives and backed by Western powers. The government clashed with the Islamic Courts Union (ICU); a group heavily believing in Sharia law. A U.S. backed invasion by Ethiopian armed forces intervened the ICU's plans to overthrow and also helped prop up the transitional government. When Ethiopian troops withdrew in 2009, the transitional government was kept running for an extra two years, only thanks to the African Union. Al-Shabaab evolved from the Islamic Courts Union and began to take over in 2006, and everything just kept going downhill from there.

INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIL UNREST
The Deyr seasonal rains that has saved Somalia from its worst drought in 60 years has also brought in new challenges. Dangerous and inaccessible roads now carry water borne diseases such as cholera that might prove lethal to a population recovering from malnutrition. The rains have also not translated into food right away, a shortage of grain and staple goods are expected to persist in the next  year. Many analysts continue to question why this emergency was not prevented because the severe drought and food shortage was predicted last year. As well as rushing to the aid of the victims of the famine, many are still furious with African politicians for not doing more to prevent the crisis. With the Kenyan military trying to defeat the al-Shabaab comes consequences; the widening conflict threatens to increase internal displacement and hamper the delivery of aid. Susanna Nicol states that the Kenyan Military operation has not yet affected aid delivery which passes through Mogadishu and Afgoye.

GLOBAL WARMING.

Twelve million people dead, thirty thousand of them children. All because of this famine and you would think one of the causes would be more then just global warming. Well, you're wrong. Environmentalists say, the famine is a direct consequence of weather phenomena associated with climate change and global warming. El Nino and La Nina causes there to be a rainy season in Asia and Australia and droughts in the others, especially Africa; the worst effected country, Somalia. La Nina has caused below average precipitation in East Africa, but  the drought is now more extreme then usual, which caused the famine. Come rainy season, it may intensify the crisis; torrential* rain falling on extremely dry earth will wash away the most fertile soil which will make the food crisis even more dramatic. Environmentalists add that climate change, associated phenomena and bad agricultural practice such as overgrazing* are leading to increasing desertification across Africa. On the plus side, humanitarian organizations are buying cattle in poor condition to distribute the meat among the communities most affected by the famine. It's enough to calm the storm for a while, but permanent solutions need to be made!

*Torrential: Falling rapidly and in copious quantities.

*Overgrazing: Occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods.