Tens of thousands of children have died, and around a million Somalis have fled their homeland, since famine struck East Africa last July. The world's international media began to report the crisis when the death toll climbed, and by September, governments had pledged $1.6 billion in aid.

However, less attention was paid to the famine's causes, among them the increasing politicization of aid and the many difficulties arising from the west's relations with Al Shabab, the group controlling large swathes of southern Somalia.

In our October issue we featured an 'expert's view' on this subject from Sally Healy, an Associate Fellow of the African Programme at Chatham House in the UK, and leader of their Horn of Africa programme.  Here, she discussed her article and the questions it raises with Nyan Storey in his latest Radio NI interview.