IPC Famine Fact Sheet
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) defines Famine as an extreme deprivation of food. Starvation, death, destitution and extremely critical levels of acute malnutrition are or will likely be evident.
The IPC plays a critical role in identifying Famine conditions, and informing the response needed to save millions of lives. The IPC is now the primary mechanism the international community uses to analyse data and arrive at a conclusion whether Famine is happening or likely happening in a country. Analyses are based on evidence gathered by a wide range of partners and multistakeholder technical consensus
Know more about the IPC’s Acute Food Insecurity Scale with Nicholas Haan
WHAT IS FAMINE?
What is Famine?
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) defines famine as an extreme deprivation of food. Starvation, death, destitution and extremely critical levels of acute malnutrition are or will likely be evident.
A Famine classification (IPC Phase 5) is the highest phase of the IPC Acute Food Insecurity scale, and is attributed when an area has at least 20% of households facing an extreme lack of food, at least 30% of children suffering from acute malnutrition, and two people for every 10,000 dying each day due to outright starvation or to the interaction of malnutrition and disease.
THE IPC ACUTE FOOD INSECURITY SCALE
The IPC acute Food Insecurity Scale
has become the global standard for the classification of acute food insecurity. It is used principally to inform decisions on resource allocation and programming globally and within countries, especially for countries experiencing recurrent or protracted food crises.
1
Phase 1 None/Minimal
Households are able to meet essential food and non-food needs without engaging in atypical and unsustainable strategies to access food and income.
2
Phase 2 Stressed
Households have minimally adequate food consumption but are unable to afford some essential non-food expenditures without engaging in stress-coping strategies.
3
| Phase 3 Crisis | |
| Households either: • Have food consumption gaps that are reflected by high or above-usual acute malnutrition; |
or • Are marginally able to meet minimum food needs but only by depleting essential livelihood assets or through crisis-coping strategies |
4
| Phase 4 Emergency | |
| Households either: • Have large food consumption gaps which are reflected in very high acute malnutrition and excess mortality; |
or • Are able to mitigate large food consumption gaps but only by employing emergency livelihood strategies and asset liquidation |
5
| Phase 5 Catastrophe/ Famine | |
| Households have an extreme lack of food and/or other basic needs even after full employment of coping strategies. Starvation, death, destitution and extremely critical acute malnutrition levels are evident. | For Famine Classification, area needs to have extreme critical levels of acute malnutrition and mortality. |
FAMINE VS CATASTROPHE
Famine
is a classification of IPC Phase 5 at area level. In a given area, famine occurs when food security, nutrition and mortality altogether portray famine conditions, meaning at least 20% of the population is affected, with about one out of three children being acutely malnourished and two people dying per day for every 10,000 inhabitants due to outright starvation or to the interaction of malnutrition and disease.
Catastrophe
Households may be classified in IPC Phase 5 Catastrophe even if the area is not classified in IPC Phase 5 Famine. This is the case when less than 20 percent of the population is experiencing famine conditions and/or when malnutrition and/or mortality levels have not (or not yet) reached famine thresholds. Even if an area has not been classified as being in Famine, it is still crucial to identify households that are facing Catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity.
FAMINE CLASSIFIED WITH SOLID OR REASONABLE EVIDENCE
Famine with solid evidence
An area is classified in Famine with solid evidence if there is clear and compelling evidence that the Famine thresholds for starvation, acute malnutrition and mortality have been reached.
Famine with reasonable evidence
An area is classified in Famine with reasonable evidence if there is clear evidence that two of the three thresholds for starvation, acute malnutrition and mortality have been reached, and analysts reasonably assess from the broader evidence that the threshold from the third outcome has likely been reached.
RISK OF FAMINE
Risk of Famine refers to the reasonable probability of an area going into Famine in the projected period. While this is not perceived necessarily as the most likely scenario, it is a scenario that generally has a realistic chance of occurring. It complements the Famine and Famine projections of the most likely scenario by providing insights of potential Famine if prospects evolve in a manner worse than anticipated.
KEY FACTS ABOUT RECENT FAMINES
KEY FACTS ON PREVIOUS FAMINES
The last decade has witnessed two examples of famine classification, in Somalia in 2011 and in South Sudan in 2017, that resulted in widespread acute malnutrition and the deaths of tens of thousands of people. The famines in Somalia and South Sudan were extreme food crises in which large populations lacked adequate access to food, mainly driven by conflict and erratic weather patterns.
Somalia, 2011
On July 20, 2011, the FAO-managed Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit for Somalia (FSNAU) and the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) declared a famine in parts of Southern Somalia including Balcad and Cadale districts of Middle Shabelle, the Afgoye corridor IDP settlement, and the Mogadishu IDP community. About 490,000 people in Somalia were experiencing Catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 5) due to conflict, drought, and poor rains.
Link to analysis:
FEWS NET FSNAU EA Evidence for a Famine Declaration 07 2011 (pdf)
South Sudan, 2017
Famine was declared in parts of South Sudan on February 20, 2017, where nearly 80,000 people faced Famine conditions (IPC Phase 5) in parts of Unity State (the central-northern part of South Sudan), with another one million people being classified in Emergency (IPC Phase 4). By then, three years of civil war had devastated livelihoods, coupled with an ailing economy and high food prices. Unity State, which borders Sudan, was at the centre of some of the fiercest fighting, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee from their homes.
Link to analysis:
South Sudan: Acute Food Insecurity Situation for January 2017 and Projections for February - April 2017 and May - July 2017
HOW TO AVOID & AVERT FAMINE
Famines should be avoided at all costs. Although further deaths can and should be prevented by urgent action, it is evident that these actions will be, de facto, a late response because many people will have died by the time a famine is declared.
The IPC supports famine prevention by highlighting the following:
Early Warning/Action
Early warning messages should trigger early response, especially for households classified in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) to save lives and livelihoods. This requires a robust multi-stakeholder monitoring tool of all drivers and outcomes of food insecurity.
Multi-sectoral Response
A massive multi-sectoral response is critical to prevent additional deaths and total livelihood/social collapse. This includes coordinated access to food, agricultural inputs, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), health and nutrition response, among others.
Humanitarian Access
Humanitarian access is a fundamental pre-requisite to effective humanitarian action to avert famine conditions. Full and unimpeded access is essential to establish operations, as well as move goods and personnel where they are needed.
Cessation of Conflicts
Where conflict is a key driver of famine conditions, the suspension of active hostilities will allow for the urgent provision of humanitarian assistance to affected populations.
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