Today, France24 published the results of a comprehensive research work on drought in the area known as Horn of Africa, which has been persistent since the year 2020. Remains to question as to why it has taken them so long to convey the study and the reasons behind the sudden release of the results. To understand the issue at hand, one must first consider the publications by WWF and Oxfam in 2022. The WWF had been warning about severe levels of hunger in Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan, etc. Yemen and Afghanistan were classified as being among the top five countries at ‘highest alert’ as hotspots with catastrophic conditions. However, back to Horn of Africa.

The reason for the elevated levels of hunger was declared to be regional conflict and drought. However, the fact that the annually allocated budget for the prevention of famine-like conditions and the funds for developmental support had been diverted to Ukraine remained widely a tabu theme among world leaders. Yes, all funds sent to Ukraine – be it in the form of military and humanitarian aid or economic assistance. The internationally operating charity Oxfam had warned last year that over 38 million people were at risk of starvation or at risk of hightened levels of hunger, highlighting specifically the Horn of Africa area, which was unprecedented. Neither did they mention that in the northern hemisphere, the prefered destination for aid and assistance had been Ukrainian, nor have they highlighted imposed sieges by certain governments in creating hunger-like conditions. Instead, the narrative of an ongoing drought and lasting conflict took the upper hand.

Most people do not know, but during WWII, the British government starved 3 million people in India by designing artificial inflation and, additionally, confiscating means of transport for food. It was coined the Bengal Famine.

By then, the British government blamed the famine on pre-existing drought, which they claimed to have prevented a successful harvesting year. However meanwhile with new research results, Churchill’s claims of drought have been scientifically disproven. In fact, in 1942/43, the soil moisture levels were of average nature, which means the conditions for a good crop were fulfilled.

The ‘mastermind‘ behind the artificial inflation was the British economist John Maynard Keynes, who was a special advisor on Indian financial and monetary policy to Churchill and the Chancellor of the Exchaquer. Long story short, he designed policy to divert indian resources away for British military expansion, which the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill approved. British policy was explicitly designed to ‘reduce the consumption of the poor’, by creating artificial inflation, which lead to soaring prices in staple food without an increase in income. Keynes and Churchill chose to finance Allied actions by appropriating food and other resources from colonized people. Furthermore, the resources were partially sent to the British forces stationed in the Middle East.

Keynes, who is celebrated as a progressive, went on founding the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in 1944. More on the World Bank and IMF and their impact on the global south to come.

Read the full drought story here. A similar article was released in the Guardian. However, the Guardian being a part of the corporate media failed to cover the subject matter by leaving out crucial aspects of the story, which is attributable to the Guardian‘s pro-government stance.