What is famine?
Famine is the most extreme form of food crisis—a catastrophic shortage of food that results in widespread hunger, severe malnutrition, and death across a population. It's one of the most devastating emergencies communities can face, affecting millions of people simultaneously and leaving lasting impacts that span generations.
Understanding what constitutes famine, what causes it, and how we can prevent it is crucial. Because whilst famine can seem overwhelming, it's almost always preventable—and with the right response, lives can be saved.
Updated: January 2026
Ereng, 18 months, loves eating the fortified peanut paste she has been given by Community Health Promoter Charles as part of her malnutrition treatment. Here she eats the whole packet in one go.
How Famine is Classified
Famine isn't just severe hunger—it has a specific technical definition used by humanitarian organizations worldwide.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) defines famine (Phase 5) as occurring when:
- At least 20% of households face extreme food shortages
- Acute malnutrition rates in children exceed 30%
- Death rates exceed 2 deaths per 10,000 people per day
This classification system helps humanitarian organizations identify crises early and respond before conditions deteriorate to famine. By the time famine is officially declared, thousands of lives have already been lost—which is why early intervention is critical.
What Causes Famine?
Famine rarely has a single cause. Instead, it's typically triggered by multiple factors happening simultaneously, overwhelming communities' ability to cope.
Conflict and War
Armed conflict is the leading cause of famine today. Conflict and insecurity were the primary drivers of acute food insecurity for 294 million people across 53 countries in 2024.
War destroys crops, disrupts food supply chains, prevents farmers from planting or harvesting, and forces families to flee their homes. In Gaza and Sudan—two of the most severe food crises in 2024—conflict has made it nearly impossible for communities to access food or for humanitarian aid to reach those in need.
Climate Change and Natural Disasters
Extreme weather events—droughts, floods, hurricanes, and unpredictable rainfall—destroy crops and livestock that families depend on. Climate change is making these disasters more frequent and severe.
In Somalia, four consecutive failed rainy seasons between 2020 and 2023 pushed millions to the brink of famine. In Pakistan, catastrophic flooding in 2022 destroyed over 2 million acres of crops, leaving communities struggling to feed their children.
Economic Crises
Economic shocks—including currency devaluation, rising food prices, and loss of income—can push vulnerable families into hunger. When the cost of basic foods increases faster than people's ability to earn money, families are forced to choose between food and other essentials like healthcare or school fees.
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated how quickly economic disruption can trigger food crises. Lockdowns destroyed livelihoods whilst food prices soared, pushing an estimated 150 million additional people into acute food insecurity globally.
Poor Infrastructure and Agricultural Practices
Communities with limited infrastructure—poor roads, inadequate storage facilities, lack of irrigation—are more vulnerable to food shortages. When crops fail or markets become inaccessible, there's no backup system to ensure people can still access food.
Political Policies and Governance
Sometimes famine is caused—or worsened—by political decisions. When governments fail to respond to early warning signs, restrict humanitarian access, or use food as a weapon of war, preventable hunger becomes catastrophic.
The Devastating Effects of Famine
Malnutrition and Health Crises
Severe malnutrition weakens immune systems, making children—especially those under 5—extremely vulnerable to diseases like pneumonia, diarrhoea, and measles. In famine conditions, these normally treatable illnesses become deadly.
Malnutrition also causes lasting damage. Children who survive severe malnutrition may face lifelong cognitive and physical impairments that affect their ability to learn, work, and thrive.
High Mortality Rates
Famine kills. By the time famine is officially declared, thousands have already died—mostly young children and elderly people. Death rates can spike rapidly as malnutrition combines with disease outbreaks and lack of medical care.
Economic Collapse and Generational Poverty
Famine destroys livelihoods. Families sell their assets—livestock, tools, land—just to survive. Even after the immediate crisis passes, rebuilding takes years, trapping communities in cycles of poverty.
Mass Displacement
Hunger forces families to flee their homes in search of food and safety. This displacement can trigger secondary crises—overcrowded camps, disease outbreaks, and children separated from parents.
Psychological and Social Impact
The trauma of watching loved ones starve, the stress of not knowing where the next meal will come from, and the breakdown of social structures all have profound psychological impacts. These invisible scars can last generations.
Preventing and Responding to Famine
Famine is almost always preventable. With early action and sustained support, lives can be saved.
Early Warning Systems
Organizations like FEWS NET (Famine Early Warning Systems Network) monitor food security conditions globally, providing early alerts when crises are developing. These systems give humanitarian organisations crucial time to respond before conditions deteriorate to famine.
Humanitarian Aid and Emergency Response
When famine strikes, immediate humanitarian assistance - emergency food supplies, therapeutic nutrition programmes, clean water, and healthcare - saves lives.
Save the Children operates emergency nutrition programmes that treat children suffering from severe malnutrition. Our teams provide ready-to-use therapeutic food, medical care, and support to help children recover and rebuild their strength.
Building Long-term Resilience
Preventing future famines requires addressing root causes:
Strengthening food systems: Helping communities improve agricultural practices, build irrigation, and develop sustainable farming methods
Economic support: Cash assistance programmes that help families buy food whilst supporting local markets
Conflict resolution: Working toward peace is essential - without security, communities cannot plant, harvest, or access markets
Climate adaptation: Supporting communities to adapt to changing weather patterns through drought-resistant crops, water conservation, and early warning systems
Historical Examples of Famine
The Irish Potato Famine (1845–1852)
When potato blight destroyed Ireland's primary food crop, over one million people died and another million emigrated. The crisis was worsened by political policies that continued exporting food from Ireland despite widespread starvation.
The Bengal Famine (1943)
A combination of wartime policies, natural disasters, and economic disruption caused between 2 and 3 million deaths in Bengal (now Bangladesh and parts of India). The famine highlighted how political decisions can turn food shortages into catastrophes.
The Ethiopian Famine (1983–1985)
Drought combined with civil war created a famine that killed an estimated 400,000 people. The crisis galvanized global humanitarian response and demonstrated the power of international aid when deployed at scale.
Nurse Fartoun* measures Guled's* arm with a MUAC band to assess his level of malnutrition
Fadumo, 30, is a S.A.M stopper. S.A.M stands for severe acute malnutrition. It is a deadly disease. Right now, in Somalia where she lives, S.A.M. threatens 386,000 children’s lives.
How Save the Children Helps Children Affected by Famine
When famine strikes, children suffer first and worst. That's why Save the Children's emergency response focuses on:
Treating severe malnutrition: Our health workers screen children for malnutrition and provide life-saving therapeutic food and medical care. In Sudan, we've treated thousands of children for acute malnutrition whilst supporting health facilities to continue operating despite the conflict.
Providing emergency food and cash: We distribute emergency food supplies and cash assistance so families can buy nutritious food for their children. Cash programmes also support local economies during crises.
Protecting children's health: We provide clean water, sanitation facilities, and vaccination programmes to prevent disease outbreaks that become deadly when children are malnourished.
Building resilience: Beyond emergency response, we help communities prepare for future shocks through sustainable agriculture programmes, early warning systems, and support for local food production.
In Gaza, where famine conditions are developing, our teams are working tirelessly to provide food, water, and medical care to children despite incredibly difficult conditions. In Somalia, we're helping communities recover from years of drought whilst building their resilience to future climate shocks.
Famine isn't inevitable. With early warning, rapid response, and long-term support, we can prevent these crises and protect children's futures. Your support makes this work possible—helping us reach children before crisis becomes catastrophe.
East Africa Food Crisis 2017
Lokeno, 1, is treated for severe acute malnutrition by a Save the Children health worker, at a stabilisation centre in South Sudan.
In 2017, the lives of hundreds of thousands of children were at stake when a devastating food crisis swept through large parts of East Africa. Famine was widely predicted in Somalia amidst fears that the situation could spiral out of control in a manner reminiscent of 2011, when a quarter of a million people lost their lives.
However, thanks to the incredible response of the international community, famine was averted in Somalia. When famine was declared in parts of Unity State, South Sudan, the international response helped to bring it under control when there was a real risk of it spreading across the state and much of the country.
In Somalia, we screened children for malnutrition and provided the treatment they needed to recover. We also ensured that communities have access to safe drinking water and essential hygiene and sanitation items to prevent the spread of water-borne diseases.
In Kenya, we made sure families can access safe drinking water through water trucking and rehabilitated water points.
In Ethiopia, we’re continuing to provide families with livelihood support such as animal feed to help pasture regeneration and milk productivity to help feed their families and generate an income.
A wave of Severe Acute Malnutrition aka S.A.M is once again sweeping East Africa, putting 1.7 million children's lives at risk.
Is there a cure to hunger? Yes, and it costs peanuts.
£30 can pay for a child's six-week course of Plumpy Nut, a high nutrient peanut paste which stops S.A.M. in its tracks.
