Famine has been declared in South Sudan, and this year threatens Yemen, Somalia, and north-eastern Nigeria. Why? What lessons have been learned from the past? What response is needed?
This panel discussion event is organised by the Humanitarian Action Study Group of the Development Studies Association Ireland.
Speakers
Sam Taylor, Director, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Ireland
Recurring food crises - MSF’s experience and concerns
Kevin O’Sullivan, NUI Galway
Back to Biafra: Echoes from the Nigerian Civil War, 1967-70
Noreen Gumbo, Trócaire
Reflections on Trócaire response to famine in the East and Horn of Africa
Chair: Conor O’Loughlin, Trócaire
Speaker Biographies
Noreen Gumbo is Head of Humanitarian Programmes with Trócaire. With 25 years of experience in international development, Noreen has worked with local and international agencies and with UNICEF. She has managed humanitarian programmes in Zimbabwe and Malawi and worked to support local partner organisations strengthen their capacity in the delivery of humanitarian interventions across Southern Africa. Noreen has an MSc in Rural Development from UCD and a post graduate diploma in Development Management from the Open University, UK.
Dr Kevin O’Sullivan is a lecturer in history at National University of Ireland Galway. His research interests are in international history, particularly globalisation, decolonisation, NGOs, aid and development. His current project, provisionally titled The NGO Moment: The Globalisation of Humanitarianism, 1968-85, examines the social and political phenomena that inspired the rapid expansion of the global NGO community in that period.
Sam Taylor Before joining the MSF team in Dublin, Sam spent two years as the international senior communications coordinator as part of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)’s response to the Syria crisis. He has also spent time in Nepal as part of MSF’s earthquake response and in Guinea as part of the Ebola response. Prior to his role on the Syria crisis team, Sam worked as director of communications for MSF in Japan. Before MSF, Sam was a journalist and bureau chief in Vietnam and Nepal.