Acute Food Insecurity

Within a few weeks of marking the first anniversary of the Hamas-Israel war, the worst possible food security scenario is playing out in Gaza.

According to the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) Mid-Year Update, the number of people facing or expected to face IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe/Famine) food insecurity more than doubled from 2023 to 2024: from just over 700,000 people to 1.9 million people in four countries/territories. This is the highest number ever recorded by GRFC reporting.

According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Technical Working Group in Yemen, Governement of Yemen (GoY)-controlled areas of the country have seen a significant and rapid increase in acute malnutrition. By the end of this year, over 118,000 people are expected to be experiencing severe acute malnutrition. This represents an increase of 34 percent from 2023, according to the IPC.

Despite some improvements during April and May, the Gaza Strip continues to face catastrophic food insecurity with a high risk of famine, according to the latest assessment of the Famine Review Committee of the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC), released on June 25.

The IPC reports that 96% of Gaza’s population of 2.2 million people face high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 4) through September, while 22%, over 495,000 people, face catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 5).

As Gaza continues to experience unprecedented food crisis, a new commentary published in Nature takes a look at how research can forecast the long-term impacts and help policymakers develop more effective humanitarian support networks and systems to ensure post-conflict resilience.