On July 20, 2011, the United Nations declared a famine in Somalia.  Although a major crisis had been predicted in the Horn of Africa for nearly a year, it took the Declaration to mobilize a large-scale response. 2011 was the first time that a famine was declared in real time in accordance with an agreed set of criteria and on the basis of assessment data. Given constraints of access, major humanitarian agencies were not able to respond in the usual ways—which complicated the crisis and therefore demanded innovative responses.

 This special issue of Global Food Security analyzes the background and multiple causes of the crisis, the early warning and Declaration, and the major constraints to access.  Then it analyzes the response, and notes major lessons learned for future prevention, mitigation and response to famine. It is intended for policy makers, practitioners, researchers and teachers.

 The special edition is now online at Global Food Security.  The journal has graciously agreed to allow access to the site for this special issue at :