The designation of famine in Somalia and South Sudan has galvanized global action and stimulated significant donations. Aid workers and hunger experts point out that the hunger crisis in Gaza is already serious, with or without a famine designation, and aid is needed quickly.
“For me, what is important is to say that technically we have not met the conditions for famine, and frankly we do not want to meet those conditions,” said Arif Hussein, chief economist at the World Food Organization. program. “So please help, and please help now.”
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What is the situation in Gaza?
Palestinians, especially in the north, are battling famine and regularly crowd into the relatively few aid trucks that enter the area. Aid groups say people are so hungry that they are resorting to eating tree leaves, donkey fodder and food scraps.
The first IPC report on Gaza, released in December, concluded that the entire population of the Strip was experiencing food insecurity at times of crisis or worse. Although the group said Gaza had not yet crossed the famine threshold, it warned that the risk of famine-level hunger would increase if the war did not stop.
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The IPC Group said a second food security analysis is now underway.
What are the complications?
The December IPC analysis was based on publicly available data from international and local aid organizations in Gaza, which the group said met its methodology standards. But IPC analysts said they lacked up-to-date data on the prevalence of acute malnutrition. They added that obtaining this data is extremely difficult in a war zone and is a burden on already overburdened healthcare workers.
Hussein said the organization's standards were originally designed to address weather-related famine, not crises like the one in Gaza. He pointed out that most of the severe hunger crises in modern history were caused by conflicts, not climate.
Although IPC experts do the analysis that can classify a famine, it is up to government authorities and the United Nations to officially declare a famine.
In some cases, countries have been reluctant to do so. In 2022, the Somali President expressed reluctance to declare famine during a severe hunger crisis caused by drought. In 2021, Ethiopia prevented a famine declaration in the Tigray region through intense pressure, according to a senior UN official.
It is not clear exactly which authority can declare famine in Gaza. The process usually involves the country's government and its senior UN official, the IPC group said. She added that determining who will be that authority in Gaza is beyond the scope of the organization.
This article originally appeared on New York times.
