Andrew Mitchell, Britain’s international development secretary, and Kevin Rudd, Australia’s foreign minister, describe their countries’ responses to the drought and famine in East Africa in an Independent opinion piece. “The U.N. appeals are still underfunded by almost $1 billion. Britain and Australia urge the rest of the world to join them to work to prevent this humanitarian disaster turning into a catastrophe on a scale of the 1984 Ethiopian famine,” they write.

“The challenge before us is stark. The international community has the opportunity to save countless lives. But to do so our response needs to be rapid, flexible and mindful of past mistakes. We need to act now to avert an avoidable catastrophe,” they conclude (7/24).