The Politics of Food and Digital Technologies in Changing Global and Local Crises
In this introductory blog, Yasmin Houamed argues that digitalisation is not a neutral innovation but a political process, fraught with risks and vulnerabilities.
El Fasher is Sudan’s Gaza as a Place of Mass Starvation
After several weeks of mass starvation in Gaza dominating global television coverage, news reports of similar conditions in Sudan’s El Fasher, once Darfur’s capital, are finally emerging. Both regions remain under siege, with starvation deployed as a weapon for the purpose of emptying and occupying them.
Digital Colonialism: How Tech Giants Control Food Aid
This article argues that the digitalisation of food assistance mimics aspects of colonialism, especially in terms of the asymmetries involved in the extraction of data (as a valuable resource) from vulnerable populations and the dominating role of US-based multinationals.
AI was supposed to make the UK benefits system more efficient. Instead it’s brought bias and hunger.
A freedom of information request has revealed that an AI system used by the UK government for assessing benefits cases is apparently getting it wrong by a “statistically significant” amount.
Starvation crimes, network shutdowns, and obstacles to humanitarian action in Gaza and Sudan
In this blog, IHSA Vice-President and Senior Research Fellow at the Food Studies Centre at SOAS (University of London) Susanne Jaspars summarises and expands upon a contribution to the roundtable that followed the inaugural IHSA Annual Lecture on “War and Humanity” held in Bergen in May 2024.
The evolution of digital risk in food assistance
The past two decades have seen an acceleration in the digitalisation of food assistance and social welfare.
Sudan’s Crisis: Can Cash Transfers Prevent Starvation and State Collapse?
Sudan has experienced a catastrophic increase in violence since 15 April, particularly in Darfur and in the capital Khartoum.
الأزمة السودانية: هل تسهم التحويلات المالية في منع المجاعة وانهيار الدولة
يشهد السودان تصاعداً مهولاً في العنف الدائر بالبلاد، منذ ١٥ أبريل الماضي، تحديداً في دارفور وفي العاصمة الخرطوم. ترك الصراع العنيف بين قوات الدعم السريع شبه العسكرية، والقوات المسلحة السودانية للسيطرة على البلاد ومواردها، أثراً بالغاً على حيوات معظم سكان السودان. وعلى الرغم من أن هذه المعركة تبدو للوهلة الأولى وكأنها حدثاً طارئاً ، إلا أن الواقع الحالي يقتضي النظر إليها كتكثيف لنشاط الاقتصاد السياسي السوداني الاستخراجي (الريعي)، بجانب استخدام المليشيا في خوض الحروب الداخلية السودانية
Sudan’s catastrophe: A long history of failed responses to structural and direct violence
The current crisis in Sudan has deep roots. Seemingly erupting suddenly, it has in fact been a long time coming. Sudan is a highly unequal country – socially, politically, and economically, along geographical, ethnic and class axes.
Digital Famine: Discussing Risks and Prevention
The 2008 financial crisis and the Covid pandemic have dramatically accelerated the use of digital technologies to respond to food insecurity and humanitarian crises.