Famines

A famine is a situation in which a region experiences an extreme shortage of food that leads to widespread hunger, malnutrition, and a high rate of death. Famine reflects both inadequate food availability and the inability of affected people to access food, often due to price, poverty, or displacement. It is distinct from chronic undernourishment or localized food shortages, which may not cause mass mortality.

Famines arise from a combination of factors. Natural events such as droughts or floods can reduce supply, but war, civil conflict, and political instability disrupt farming, distribution, and aid. Economic pressures, including collapsing markets, price spikes, currency devaluation, and loss of livelihoods, can render food unaffordable. Policy choices, sanctions, or restrictions on humanitarian access can worsen conditions. Climate change is increasing the risk of simultaneous droughts and crop failures in some regions.

Modern famine assessment uses standardized classifications, such as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, with Phase 5 indicating famine. Mortality rates, malnutrition levels, and food-access indicators are considered alongside cause analysis. Humanitarian response aims to protect civilians, resume food distribution, restore livelihoods, provide nutrition support for children, and stabilize markets. Prevention focuses on early warning, social protection, drought resilience, and conflict mediation.

Historically, famines have occurred in many regions. Examples include the Great Famine of 1315–1317 in Europe, the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s, the Bengal Famine of 1943, the Soviet Holodomor of 1932–1933, and major famines in Ethiopia in the 1980s and in Somalia and Yemen in recent decades. These events illustrate that famine results from multiple interacting causes and that relief and prevention require coordinated humanitarian and development efforts.