JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
The people of northern Gaza are starving. That is the official declaration of a United-Nations-backed group of experts who comprise the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC. According to the report, the famine is entirely manmade, and one-third of Gaza's population is expected to experience catastrophic levels of hunger by the end of next month. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that there is no famine in Gaza, and that food shortages there are the result of Hamas seizing aid shipments.
Jean-Martin Bauer is the director of food security and nutrition analysis for the World Food Programme. He joins us now. Welcome to the program.
JEAN-MARTIN BAUER: Thanks.
SUMMERS: We have been hearing news about food shortages in Gaza for months now, so just start by telling us what is different right now that leads the IPC to officially call this a famine?
BAUER: So today's IPC findings confirm that famine is not just a risk in Gaza. It's become a reality in the case of Gaza City. Now, the IPC's formally confirmed that a famine is taking place, and this only takes place when three critical thresholds are met. The first one is extreme food deprivation, the second is acute malnutrition rates and the third is the level of starvation-related deaths. Now, all three have now been breached in Gaza City, and that means that there's massive starvation, destitution and death.
What the report also says is that these conditions could also expand and cover two more governorates in Gaza - Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis. And this is within the next few weeks.
SUMMERS: As we mentioned, a number of leaders in Israel, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have said famine is not there - food shortages are due to Hamas stealing food. Your response to that?
BAUER: Look, the - if we look at extreme food deprivation, the data we have shows that very severe hunger has tripled in Gaza governorate, which includes Gaza City, since - so this is between May and July. For malnutrition among children, it's accelerating at a catastrophic pace. Malnutrition levels in Gaza City have tripled between May and July. And what experts are saying is that collapsing health system, untreated illness and the surge in child disease are pushing death rates higher.
This is the IPC. These findings were reviewed by a group of experts - a group of independent experts called the Famine Review Committee. They looked at everything in detail, and they are telling us today that there is a famine taking place in Gaza governorate, which includes Gaza City, and that it could spread. The IPC is the gold standard in terms of international food security analysis.
SUMMERS: You've underscored that a famine declaration is significant, but if Israel refuses to let aid into Gaza, and if countries like the United States do not find ways to hold Israel accountable, what will actually change for the people there in northern Gaza, who you say are at a tipping point right now?
BAUER: Well, addressing famine in Gaza will require not only food, but also urgent medical support, emergency nutrition. And what actually we've seen in the history of this crisis is that when there is a ceasefire, conditions do improve. If we go back to the month of February, food prices in Gaza had gone way down. The same indicators that we've been monitoring since the start of this crisis were a lot better than they are today. So when humanitarians are given a chance to respond, the situation does improve.
The problem in the present scenario of famine in Gaza City is that we have this exponential increase in acute malnutrition, which is extremely complex to treat. And once you're in these uncharted waters, the - it's not as easy as just letting trucks in. That - malnutrition takes weeks to treat. It's a slow burn, and unfortunately t, hat's been triggered already. And this is a new facet to a very complex crisis in Gaza.
SUMMERS: Look ahead to us, now that this declaration of famine has occurred, to what might come next for the people there in Gaza and what they're experiencing.
BAUER: The people in Gaza are experiencing a prolonged food crisis which started in 2023, with moments where things got better, including the ceasefire I mentioned earlier this year. And what we hopefully see is conditions on the ground improving for humanitarian actors, improving for the health sector. And that would only happen with an end to the hostilities. The situation right now is appalling, and the fact that a famine has been confirmed today should call us all to act. This is - in the words of the emergency coordinator of the U.N. - a stain on our conscience.
SUMMERS: I do want to ask you what you have been hearing from your people there on the ground as they work to provide resources to people there. What are they saying to you?
BAUER: They're saying that there's a desperation, that they see malnourished children on the ground. It's also a very difficult time for the humanitarians trying to bring assistance.
SUMMERS: We've been speaking with Jean-Martin Bauer. He's the director of food security and nutrition analysis for the World Food Programme. Thank you so much.
BAUER: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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