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In 2011, Somalia experienced a devastating famine that killed over a quarter of a million people. Afterwards, leaders in the region made a commitment to end drought emergencies by 2022. The international community sought to ensure that there would be no repeat of the failures that led to famine. Next time, the world would heed the warnings and act early to avoid the crisis. But despite various warnings and alarms over the past two years, the commitment to anticipatory action has proven half-hearted. We are once again responding too late and with too little to avert the crisis., In this follow-up to their 2012 briefing A Dangerous Delay, Oxfam and Save the Children, supported by the Jameel Observatory, examine what has changed and what has not in the humanitarian system since 2011. They explain how it must evolve in order to enable and fully fund anticipatory action. With the climate crisis set to deepen, the current system must change quickly in order to meet the challenges we face in the years ahead., En 2011, la Somalie a connu une famine particulièrement dévastatrice, qui a coûté la vie à plus de 250 000 personnes. À son terme, les dirigeant·es de la région se sont engagé·es à mettre un terme aux situations d’urgence liées à la sécheresse avant 2022. La communauté internationale voulait s’assurer que les erreurs qui ont conduit à la famine ne se répéteraient pas. La prochaine fois, le monde tiendrait compte des mises en garde et agirait avant l’heure pour éviter ce genre de crise. Pourtant, même si la sonnette d’alarme a été tirée à plusieurs reprises ces deux dernières années, les initiatives visant à tenir cette promesse restent timorées. Une fois de plus, nous réagissons trop tard et avec trop peu de moyens pour éviter la crise., Dans cette suite apportée au document d’information Un retard dangereux publié en 2012, Oxfam et Save the Children se sont associées à l’Observatoire Jameel pour passer en revue ce qui a changé ou non dans le système humanitaire depuis 2011. Elles expliquent les évolutions nécessaires pour financer entièrement l’action anticipée et la favoriser. La crise climatique étant amenée à s’aggraver, le système doit évoluer rapidement si nous voulons faire face aux défis qui se profilent au cours des prochaines années.

More than 13 million people are still affected by the crisis in the Horn of Africa. There were clear early warning signs many months in advance, yet there was insufficient response until it was far too late. This briefing, published jointly by Oxfam and Save the Children, examines the factors that allowed a drought in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti to develop into a full-scale crisis of hunger and livelihoods, such that millions of people suffered and thousands died. Its main focus is the response of international aid system, although the ultimate importance of enhanced resilience for the communities themselves is recognised. Recommendations: A change in approach to chronic drought situations is needed: managing the risks, not the crisis. This means that the all actors – national governments, donors, NGOs, and the UN need to • act decisively on information from early warning systems and not wait for certainty before responding; • actively seek to reduce drought risk in all activities, ensuring that long-term development interventions increase resilience and adapt to the changing context; and • change organisational structures, invest in people and provide flexible funding in order to break down the divisions between humanitarian and development work.