In 1998 more than 100,000 people perished in the Bahr el Ghazal region of Southern Sudan. The immediate cause was famine. But could better research and more adequate aid have prevented many of the deaths? The famine was triggered by a combination of civil unrest, extreme climactic conditions, poor market strategies and weak public action. Yet, did the failure of the international community to understand the famine from the point of view of its victims, make it even worse?