The UN has designated the situation in Somalia the most severe humanitarian crisis in the world.  An estimated 12.4 million people across the Horn of Africa are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. 

ODI's work responding to the famine has been led by the Humanitarian Policy Group and has investigated:

• why early warning didn’t translate into early action;
• the effectiveness of the humanitarian response;
• issues around access to water and food aid;
• what can be learnt from previous famines in the Horn of Africa and elsewhere to inform the current response.