The world 'dithered while thousands died in Africa'

Thousands of lives and millions of pounds were lost because of a "dangerous delay" in the response to the East Africa famine, a report claimed today.

A "culture of risk aversion" meant the world failed to take decisive action, causing a six-month setback in relief.

Oxfam and Save the Children, who wrote the review, said many governments and humanitarian organisations wanted proof of a humanitarian catastrophe before trying to prevent one and were too slow in spending money.

An emergency was forecast as early as August 2010 but the full-scale response was not launched until July last year, when malnutrition rates in parts of the region had gone "far beyond the emergency threshold".

Estimates suggest between 50,000 and 100,000 lives were lost between April and August. Barbara Stocking, chief executive of Oxfam, said: "We all bear responsibility for this dangerous delay. It's shocking that the poorest people are still bearing the brunt of a failure to respond swiftly and decisively."

Justin Forsyth, chief executive of Save the Children, said: "We can no longer allow this grotesque situation to continue, where the world knows an emergency is coming but ignores it until confronted with TV pictures of desperately malnourished children."

The Department for International Development said: "British taxpayers' generous support has helped hundreds of thousands in dire need in the Horn of Africa and longer term British assistance in Ethiopia and Kenya has meant that millions more were not caught up in this terrible tragedy."