Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fews Net), a web-based platform for predicting famine, went offline on 30 January 2025. The system had provided up-to-date data to predict and track food insecurity in nearly 30 countries in Africa, central America and Asia for 40 years. It was funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAid). It went offline following USAid’s shutdown by the new US administration.
In Kenya, Fews Net worked with the National Drought Management Agency and the Kenya Food Security Steering Group to develop regular outlook reports at national and county levels. Timothy Njagi Njeru, an agricultural economist who researches food security and emergency responses, explains what Fews Net’s abrupt departure portends for Kenya.
