Tag: Integrated food security phase classification

According to the World Food Programme, over 295 million people in 53 countries experienced acute food insecurity in 2024 alone. A widespread food crisis is not a single event but a complex spectrum of severe conditions, and the terminology used to describe it ranges from food insecurity to the specific, technical classification of famine.

Developed as a multi-partner initiative, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) provides a standardized scale for analyzing food security situations globally. So, what is IPC Phase 2? It is the 'Stressed' phase, which signals that a population faces significant but not yet severe food access challenges, relying on atypical coping strategies to get by.

According to the World Food Programme, a crisis (IPC Phase 3) level of acute food insecurity is often triggered by economic shocks, conflict, or natural disasters. In this phase, households face significant food consumption gaps and must resort to unsustainable crisis coping strategies, such as selling essential assets. Understanding what is Phase 3 of food insecurity is crucial for effective humanitarian response and intervention planning.