Original Research
Analysing Southern African food security: assessing the New Variant Famine hypothesis
Koers - Bulletin for Christian Scholarship/Bulletin vir Christelike Wetenskap | Vol 72, No 2 | a203 |
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/koers.v72i2.203
| © 2007 G. van Riet
| This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 27 July 2007 | Published: 27 July 2007
Submitted: 27 July 2007 | Published: 27 July 2007
About the author(s)
G. van Riet, African Centre for Disaster Studies, Potchefstroom Campus, North-West University, South AfricaFull Text:
PDF (166KB)Abstract
This article investigates the New Variant Famine (NVF) hypothesis coined by Alex De Waal during the 2001-2003 Southern African food security crisis, as a tool for analysing food insecurity in the region. The NVF hypothesis depicts a protracted and extensive famine from which there is very little chance of recovery, in which HIV and AIDS are central to the widespread suffering of people. The author suggests that the role of HIV and AIDS on food security be considered as one contributing factor to a dynamic process(es) of vulnerability and not viewed in isolation. In addition it is suggested that analyses focus on underlying processes driving vulnerability and not on specific instances of “famine” or crisis.
Keywords
Famine; Food Security; HIV And AIDS; New Variant Famine; Vulnerability
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Crossref Citations
1. A Test of the New Variant Famine Hypothesis: Panel Survey Evidence from Zambia
Nicole M. Mason, T.S. Jayne, Antony Chapoto, Robert J. Myers
World Development vol: 38 issue: 3 first page: 356 year: 2010
doi: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2009.10.004