Food Crisis and Related Risk Factors

The chance to prevent widespread famine in the Gaza Strip has passed, according to the IPC Famine Review Committee (FRC). The prolonged food crisis in Gaza reached an unprecedented and devastating level in July and August, with the FRC confirming famine in Gaza Governate and projecting famine thresholds to be crossed in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis Governates in the coming weeks. This latest update places more than half a million people at risk of starvation.

With the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) deadline of 2030 fast approaching, the clock is ticking for the world to meet its goal of eradicating hunger and food insecurity. Some progress was made toward this milestone in 2024; however, hunger levels remain above their pre-pandemic levels, according to the 2025 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report.

The population of the Gaza Strip is facing unprecedented crisis, according to the latest IPC alert released yesterday. Calling the situation the “worst-case scenario,” the alert reports famine-level food consumption throughout most of the territory and acute malnutrition in Gaza City.

As the Israel-Hamas conflict rages on in the Gaza Strip, the territory’s entire population of more than 2 million remains under threat of severe food crisis. The latest alert from the IPC Integrated Phase Classification for Acute Food Insecurity reports that one in five people in the Gaza Strip—upwards of 500,000—are on the brink of  starvation (IPC Phase 5 Catastrophe) due to the March 18, 2025 end of the ceasefire and the resumption of blockades of humanitarian aid and commercial supplies. The entire population is facing crisis-level acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or worse). 

In the wake of a series of recent crises that drove up global hunger and food insecurity, the world remains far off track in meeting Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2)—ending hunger and malnutrition by 2030. Now, in a chaotic global environment of still more crises and complications, including cuts in official development assistance, what is the best course forward for governments and development organizations to address these urgent problems?