Famine is declared in Gaza: What does it take to make this pronouncement?

Famine has been confirmed in northern Gaza, with more than 500,000 people facing imminent starvation as conditions worsen across densely populated areas. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification identified the Gaza Governorate, including Gaza City, as experiencing famine and warned of possible spread to central and southern Gaza by late September. The situation follows nearly two years of armed conflict triggered on October 7 and is compounded by Israeli restrictions that have limited food and humanitarian aid. Famine declarations require documented widespread starvation, illness, and mortality and rely on monitoring systems such as FEWS NET established in 1985 to provide evidence-based analysis.

After weeks of rising concern about hunger in Gaza, a United Nations-backed panel has declared that famine is underway in northern Gaza, warning that more than half a million people are on the brink of starvation as hunger spreads deeper into the densely populated Palestinian enclave. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) confirmed on Friday that famine has taken hold in the Gaza Governorate, encompassing Gaza City and nearby areas, and warned it could extend to central and southern Gaza by late September.

The declaration comes nearly two years into an armed conflict with Israel that was triggered by the October 7 invasion by Hamas. Israeli restrictions have limited the flow of food and aid into Gaza. Israel has long disputed claims about food insecurity in Gaza. World Food Programme's Director of Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Jean-Martin Bauer noted that when a famine is declared, it means there is documentation of widespread starvation, widespread illness and widespread mortality.

The system the world relies on to track food emergencies began in the 1980s, said Tim Hoffine, now Deputy Chief of Party-Innovation at the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET). In response to famines in East and West Africa, U.S. aid officials realized the need for a way to monitor global hunger. The goal, Hoffine said, was to provide "independent, timely and evidence-based analysis" to help decision makers prevent future famines. That led to the founding in 1985 of FEWS NET by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to contract experts to collect and analyze data on at-risk areas monthly.

Read at www.npr.org