MASS FAMINE THREAT

“In Ethiopia upwards of 4.5 million people, more than four times the number wiped out by the great famine of 1984-85, may starve this year if food relief is not provided​—and soon,” states Time magazine.

This time the threat of mass starvation cannot be blamed mostly on drought, crop failures, or other “acts of nature.” Relief supplies of foodstuffs have been pledged by wealthier nations, and distribution networks stand by to move them. But political policies and wars in the affected nations stand in the way, as the leaders “are more intent upon winning their wars than feeding the people they are supposedly fighting for,” says Time. Starvation and disease can be used as weapons to crush rebellion.