 | Famine, Needs-assessment and Survival Strategies in Africa (Oxfam, 1993, 40 p.) |
 |  | (introduction...) |
| | Acknowledgements |
| | Executive summary |
| | 1 Introduction |
|  | 2 A case of crying wolf? |
| | (introduction...) |
| | 2.1 Some distortions in the process of needs-assessment |
| | 2.1.1 Estimating production, food availability and population |
| | 2.1.2 The 'food balance-sheet' approach |
| | 2.1.3 Donor fatigue/scepticism |
| | 2.1.4 Gender biases |
| | 2.2 Needs-assessment in some specific countries |
| | 2.3 Limited relief |
| | 2.4 A real crisis in Africa |
| | 3 Survival strategies and their 'costs' |
| | (introduction...) |
| | 3.1 Eating wild foods |
| | 3.2 Going hungry |
| | 3.3 Food preparation |
| | 3.4 Slavery |
| | 3.5 Sale of assets (productive/non-productive) and purchase of food |
| | 3.6 Trading |
| | 3.7 Labouring |
| | 3.8 Household migration |
| | 3.9 Consurnption of assets |
| | 3.10 Borrowing |
| | 3.11 Gifts |
| | 3.12 Receiving remittances |
| | 3.13 Theft |
| | 4 The dangers of relying on survival strategies |
| | 5 Survival strategies: informing relief, not precluding it |
| | (introduction...) |
| | 5.1 Cheap grain: a boon for production as well as consumption |
| | 5.2 Internal grain purchase: the best of both worlds |
| | 5.3 Purchasing assets |
| | 5.4 Other schemes for livestock support |
| | 5.5 Distributing cash |
| | 5.6 Timing of relief |
| | 5.7 The use of relief to 'create' or 'revive' an economy |
| | 5.8 Relief and levels of violence |
| | 5.9 Morale |
| | 5.10 Relief as a threat to survival strategies |
| | 5.11 Understanding survival strategies |
| | 5.12 Countering the idea that relief is unnecessary |
| | Bibliography |
(introduction...)
One of the reasons why survival strategies seem so important is that predicted famines, with millions said to be facing starvation, have often not materialized, at least in the form predicted and in the form that donors and the general public recognise as 'famine'. It is important, then, to ask on what basis such predictions are made. Equally, it is important to ask whether the absence of mass mortality and an instantly recognizable 'famine' really means that there has been no significant crisis and no significant need for relief.
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