By: Max de Haldevang

On Feb. 22, UN secretary general Antonio Guterres delivered a grave warning: $4.4 billion was needed by the end of March to avoid the “catastrophe” of looming famine that could endanger 20 million lives in South Sudan, Nigeria, Yemen, and Somalia. His announcement echoed the words of UN humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien, who noted earlier in the month that “we are facing the largest humanitarian crisis since the creation of the United Nations” in 1945.

But with March over, the amount donated to the UN totals around 20% of what’s needed—$852 million, according to the UN’s Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. That values each life at roughly $42.60.

None of the four countries mentioned in Guterres’ appeal has yet declared a nationwide famine—there are stringent UN criteria for when you can do so—but the international community’s slow response seems to mirror what happened in the 2010-2012 famine in Somalia, when the world let 260,000 people die of starvation. The wealthier parts of the world have a long history of being slow to address famines, especially in parts of the greater Horn of Africa, which has been most prone to them due to geographical factors, as well as social and development issues.

Image: A young girl fleeing the Somali famine in 2011 runs in search of her parents. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)