The objective of this work is to discuss the wide-ranging challenges of famine relief, including the context in which relief is provided and the co-ordination of relief activities.

This study focuses on the two famine emergencies in the Sudan in the 1980s and analyzes the reticence and denial which characterized the response of the government in Khartoum to these crises. The authors highlight the implications for future international involvement in humanitarian interventions in the new world order.