There can be no doubt - what is unfolding in the Horn of Africa right now is a colossal human tragedy on a scale we in the West struggle to imagine. Outside of the community of individuals who have contributed to aid efforts overseas, only those with memories of the Second World War and the immediate period afterwards can begin to come close to the sheer industrial scale of suffering that is gripping the people of Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia. The UN has declared a famine in southern Somalia, where 3.7 million people - the equivalent of the metropolitan area of Birmingham - currently live.

Yet, we have seen the inevitable procession of grumpy commentators rising up to complain about the sending of aid to help those in need. In an age where we can see the suffering of the Somali people in all its intense and horrible detail, to be possessed of the conceit that aid does nothing in a time of great human suffering; or that we should not give aid ourselves; strikes me as a deeply inhuman sentiment. But it is also a deeply damaging sentiment for this country - we must act today, now, to prevent a future crisis on a scale that will make this famine and these deaths a scribbling in the margins of history.

Poor nutrition for children deeply hinders their development as they grow older - physically, intellectually and emotionally. The dislocation of families breaks down social and economic structures that can take years to rebuild, at significant cost. The Islamist militias across the region are unlikely to disappear because of this famine; indeed, if the West backs away from helping, I can think of many reasons why good, rational people in Somalia would want to join up to these forces. We do our own economic future and security a disservice, then, if we fail to act.

But self-interest alone is not a good enough reason to give aid. We must give to help those suffering in Africa because they, like us, are human. Prick them, and they bleed as we do. What we see in the faces of the children in camps is the same stardust that makes us, the same potential - but wasting away under the merciless grasp of the famine. It is no good to sit in our rich, comfortable country and proclaim there are “too many Somalis”, for example. Population control takes years to properly implement - and what is the point of condoms, if all those who would wear them are dead? Yes, work must be under taken to ensure that the region will come out of this famine and be better prepared for the future.

Meanness and self-centred approaches to aid, however, will not deliver that security for the people of Somalia. We must commit to supporting famine relief efforts through food aid and other forms of supplies to support the refugees, as well as planning for the future. It is tragic - and wrong - that it has reached this point, but we must deal with these circumstances now to prevent greater future costs. It is all well and good to proclaim the Somali people “responsible”, even in part for this - but that relies on a flawed understanding of choice. Choice requires skill sets to deploy - education, infrastructure and the accessibility of basic resources, among other things, are central - which the people of Somalia lack and often have no means through which they can obtain. Many have taken up violence because there is no alternative - they have no other way of trying to obtain what they need, of seeking redress for their ills, other than the barrel of a gun. Blaming them for this misses the wider picture entirely.

We can help the people of Somalia. It is not a question of others not helping enough - we should be proud that we, as a country in a time of economic uncertainty, still have the human decency to alleviate the suffering of others far beyond what most of us have ever experienced.