"Famine declarations are relatively rare. But the leading international authority on hunger crises this week declared that regions of war-torn Sudan face catastrophic shortages of food, water and medicine, just months after the same multi-agency body the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) formally declared famine in Gaza had reached catastrophic levels amid Israel's campaign against Hamas. Previously, the IPC has confirmed catastrophic famine conditions in Somalia in 2011 and South Sudan in 2017 and 2020."
"There's a very specific, internationally-agreed upon system for gauging hunger crises 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. Still, there was no universal standard to define the severity of hunger crises making coordination among donors and aid groups difficult."
Formal famine declarations have been issued recently for regions of Sudan and Gaza, with prior confirmations in Somalia (2011) and South Sudan (2017, 2020). Formal declarations document widespread starvation, illness, and mortality, and remain rare. A specialized system for tracking food emergencies developed after famines in East and West Africa, leading to FEWS NET in 1985 to produce independent, evidence-based, monthly analysis. The system aimed to provide independent, timely, and evidence-based analysis to help decision makers prevent future famines. U.S. aid officials sought a reliable approach to monitor at-risk areas. Lack of a universal severity standard previously hindered coordination among donors and aid groups.
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