Although nearly one billion people around the world suffer from hunger, famines are actually rare. In the past 15 years, only two famines have been declared around the world. Famine was just declared in parts of South Sudan, but the last famine declaration was six years ago in Somalia. Humanitarian groups and governments use a system known as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) which is a standardized set of tools used to assess the severity of hunger in a given area.
“Famine/Catastrophe” is the most severe classification, and is declared when all of the following thresholds are met:
Global acute malnutrition (GAM) rates among children exceed 30 per cent;
Widespread starvation and destitution affecting at least 20 per cent of the population in an area is evident;
More than two people or more than four children per 10,000 are dying each day from hunger.