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Africa has problems. You know it, we know it, the little green men on Mars probably know it, too. [Africa on a globe, stamped with the sign - PROBLEM]

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Which of Africa's problems is the worst? Corruption?

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War? Terrorism? Poverty? Disease? [images of photographs flashing on screen]

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Environmental degradation? Well, they're all pretty bad, but perhaps the issue we...

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can most viscerally connect with is the problem of famine.

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No one wants to be hungry. Heck, our tummies start to rumble if we go more than a couple... [students sitting in a classroom]

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of hours without a snack break. Famine, however, is far worse...

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than the ordinary hunger we all experience 15 minutes before mom and dad put dinner...

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on the table. According to the paper pushers at the UN, there has to be an... [a man serving pizza to a woman]

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extreme shortage of food over a large geographical area...

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in order for the UN to declare a famine. And no,

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not having a McDonald's within five miles of your home doesn't qualify as extreme food shortage. [a woman going to Mc Donalds]

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Just to give you some perspective, 64,000 people a day...

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would have to die of starvation in the United States in order for a famine to be...

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declared here. You might think that acts of nature cause famines, and you'd be right. [picture of American flag and a white flag with the sign FAMINE]

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For example, the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s...

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got started thanks to a nasty fungus that ruined the only food... [a man standing in a farm]

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that many Irish could afford to eat. However, Mother Earth can't foot all the blame...

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for the famines of the past and present. Humans contribute to food insecurity, too...

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because of course we do. For example, human factors like a lack of agricultural infrastructure, [someone digging with a shovel]

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war, conflict, and unstable food prices fuel the flames of famine. We know about...

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these factors because many of the great famines of the past... [woman in a vegetable market]

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like the Great Chinese Famine of 1959 - 61, and the famines...

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in Russia in the Soviet Union in the first... [a black and white image of Great Chinese Famine in 1959 - 1961]

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half of the 20th century, occurred during times of war, conflict,

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and political upheaval. What's interesting is that almost...

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all of the famines of the last 50 or 60 years have taken place... [image of world map]

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in Africa. On this continent, conflict, climate change, and...

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donor politics, a.k.a. the West's failure to respond or refusal... [a child standing outside a small house made of bricks]

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to respond to a crisis, in combination with other factors, like a reliance on...

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subsistence agriculture, cause serious and persistent food insecurity.

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Fortunately, Obi-Wan Kenobi isn't Africa's only hope. The development arm of... [a green board with some details written on it]

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the US government has a famine early warning system now that can...

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look at all the complex roots of famine, and put out a prediction of... [a small red screen flashing a sign - WARNING FAMINE]

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where and when a famine might occur. Once we're armed with this information,

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there are a number of potential solutions we can use to combat food security, [an aircraft on a runway and a man holding a sheet of paper]

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including humanitarian food aid, infrastructure improvements, and...

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market access for local farmers to sell their stuff. And the Purchase... [woman in a vegetable market]

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for Progress Project. Try saying that three times fast.

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Of course, since we live in a democracy, many in the US also theorize that increased democratization... [man in a suit offering a basket full of vegetables to a child]

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in Africa could lessen the occurrence of severe food shortages. Well, famine is a complex problem,

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and solving Africa's food insecurity issues will never be as easy as a walk in the local... [two men dressed in a suit standing in a local grocery store]

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park or your local grocery store. But famine in Africa is solvable...

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all we need is the will to make hunger a thing of the past. [Spiderman in a grocery store]

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