Dearth
Etymology
From Middle English derthe, formed from the Old English deore, "dear, costly, precious," plus a noun-forming ending. The literal sense is "dearness" — the state in which things grow costly because they are scarce. Originally it referred above all to famine and expensive grain, and only later to shortages of any kind.
noun · /DURTH/
A serious shortage or scarcity of something needed.
What it names
A conspicuous lack — not merely little, but too little of something important, whether food, talent, funds, or ideas.
Example
The region suffered a dearth of doctors, with a single clinic serving three towns.
Related idea
Scarcity is the neutral economic condition of limited supply; dearth is more emphatic and often graver, stressing a damaging shortfall of something valued.