Famine
Why it matters?
On 22 August 2025, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) confirmed famine in Gaza, the first outside Africa.
What you should know?
The IPC is an independent body, funded by Western countries, and overseen by 19 humanitarian organisations and regional bodies.
It classifies acute food insecurity on a five-phase scale, with Phase 5 being the most extreme, consisting of “catastrophe” and “famine.”
For an area to be declared in famine, three conditions must be met:
At least 20% of the population faces extreme food shortages.
At least one in three children are acutely malnourished.
At least two people per 10,000 die each day due to starvation or malnutrition-related disease.
In Gaza, around 2.8 lakh people in Gaza City are already in famine conditions.
The IPC projected that Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis regions would reach famine levels by the end of September 2025.
The IPC findings are based on data from the UN World Food Programme (WFP), relief organisations, and national governments.
Previous famines confirmed by the IPC include Somalia (2011), South Sudan (2017 & 2020), and Sudan (2024).