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4 days ago

Gaza 'hungriest place on Earth' - so why has famine not been declared?
Gaa has been described as the "hungriest place on Earth" by the UN humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA).
Jens Laerke told reporters in Geneva that it is the only territory in the world where the entire population is at risk of famine.
As we have been reporting (see our 8.58am post) the resumption of limited aid deliveries has made little impact on hungry residents, according to the UN.
Mr Laerke said less than 600 aid trucks have been offloaded in Gaza, out of nearly 900 that were approved to enter from Israel.
'It is drip-feeding food into an area on the verge of catastrophic hunger,' he insisted.
Despite the recurring warnings about a lack of food, famine has not officially been declared in Gaza. Here's why.
What is famine?
The leading international authority on hunger crises, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), considers an area to be in famine when three things occur:
20% of households have an extreme lack of food, or essentially are starving;
At least 30% of children suffer from acute malnutrition or wasting, meaning they're too thin for their height;
Two adults or four children per every 10,000 people are dying daily of hunger and its complications.
Why has famine not been declared in Gaza?
Access to Gaza is extremely limited to experts, meaning that gathering data is extremely difficult if not impossible in some cases.
Last year, the IPC said famine can be classified in an area if "reasonable evidence" of two of the three above thresholds have been reached and crossing the third appears likely to have happened.
Although there is no set rule on "declaring" famine, UN officials or governments will typically make a formal announcement.
Mr Laerke from the OCHA said once IPS data shows an area has hit the threshold for a famine, it is a famine, announcement or not.