Experts say there’s reason to believe what we’re seeing in Gaza is famine. According to the UN, before this recent fighting, the number of children under the age of five in Northern Gaza that were suffering from severe malnutrition was about 1 in 100. By February experts say that number was closer to 1 in 6 and in March have projected that number to be as high as about 1 in 3.
The situation has become so catastrophic that the UN’s top court says Palestinians in Gaza are no longer only facing a risk of famine, but that famine is now ‘setting in.’
That statement has been making headlines around the world, but what does it actually mean and why is the use of the term ‘famine’ such a big deal?
Famine is more than just a word used to describe mass starvation. There’s actually a specific set of criteria that need to be met for a famine to be officially declared.
Twenty years ago, the United Nations created the IPC as a way to keep track of food security levels of countries around the world. There are five different phases, with famine being the most extreme.
Famine occurs when at least 20 percent of a population face extreme food shortages, and 30 percent or more of a population’s children are acutely malnourished, which is the most extreme and visible form of starvation.
It’s detected by measuring things like a child’s weight, their arm size, and looking for signs of unhealthy swelling.
Currently, there are multiple countries facing emergency conditions and are at risk of famine, but an actual declaration of famine is really rare. There have only been two officially recorded since the IPC came into effect. But that doesn’t mean that world hunger doesn’t really exist anymore.
Something that’s very important for people to understand is that things don’t start getting bad when a famine is declared, anything from Phase 3 onwards is considered a crisis that requires urgent action, and now, the IPC says there is reasonable evidence that shows famine is already occurring in Gaza. So, just how devastating can famine be to a population?
Doctors in Gaza say they’re overwhelmed and are already seeing children dying of starvation. As people get more and more desperate, they’re often forced from their homes in search of food, and populations scrambling over the few scraps of food remaining can lead to chaos. A big part of what makes famine so devastating, is the fact that starvation isn’t the only thing a population needs to worry about.
Malnutrition leads to weakened immune systems, and for kids in particular, it makes them a lot more likely to die from common diseases, diseases that normally wouldn’t cause them many problems.
There’s also the financial impact. Famine perpetuates poverty and instability and can completely destabilise an entire population for generations.
So, what actually causes a hunger crisis to get so bad that it becomes a famine? The biggest drivers of catastrophic hunger events are conflict and political inaction. When it comes to Gaza, there are a number of different factors. The first is that Gaza almost completely reliant on outside food, and right now experts say nowhere near enough food or aid is being let into Gaza. Then there’s the simple fact that most Gazans can’t leave. The constant bombardment is what many experts say is one of the biggest drivers behind the devastation that we’re seeing right now.
Israel has repeatedly said that it isn’t blocking aid from flowing into Gaza and that it needs to control the traffic going in and out of the region, to protect the safety of the Israeli people. But, the UN says it needs to do more, to allow aid to reach people safely and quickly. This brings us to what many experts say is the most important thing that’s needed to stop famine and that, is a ceasefire. Humanitarian aid organisations and experts say that delivering food and aid alone isn’t enough, because you can’t treat widespread malnutrition when your healthcare system is already overwhelmed because of intense, brutal fighting.
- Nicholas Maher
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