Recent events in Malawi, North Korea and Mongolia highlight that the threat of famine is not confined to the Horn of Africa, even though this is still an acutely vulnerable region.

IDS is coordinating a programme of work based on the belief that global eradication of famine is achievable in the foreseeable future. The ultimate objective of this policy-oriented research is to contribute to a new policy agenda for famine prevention.

As many as 70 million people died in famines during the twentieth century, yet this was also the time when the technical and logistical capacity to end famine was first attained. Lessons urgently need to be learned from past successful -and unsuccessful - attempts to combat famine.

This programme which was begun initially with a Department for International Development funded project brings together academics, policymakers and practitioners from Africa, Asia, Europe and North America, to present and debate salient issues and case studies in order to consolidate our understanding of why famine persists and to help us develop a new global policy agenda for its prevention.