Drought in developing economies

Catastrophic droughts, perhaps more than other natural disasters, have emblematic images captured by television cameras and still photography: rail-thin men and women walking along dusty roads, shrivelled animal carcasses baking in the sun, UN blue canvas tent cities, close-ups of crying babies with distended stomachs and mucus-encrusted upper lips, makeshift graveyards on the edge of refugee camps. These stark images depict localised conditions within a particular region and focus international attention on emergency relief. But drought is never a localised phenomenon. Its impact transcends oceans and borders. The impact of drought can be far reaching, both literally and figuratively. Drought-induced crop failure in Australia or India can have dramatic repercussions in The Gambia. The current drought in Somalia and parts of Ethiopia and Kenya have wide-ranging knock-on effects throughout the sub-region. Many of these multiplier effects do not lend themselves to camera lenses and, as such, often get lost in the shuffle.