The technical requirements of international protocols, such as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), demand complex criteria and highly accurate statistical data before a famine can be officially declared. Meanwhile, people are already dying from severe acute malnutrition and related diseases.

The lack of reliable data in besieged areas and active conflict zones often prevents international agencies from classifying conditions as Phase 5 (Famine). As a result, the international community’s wait for formal confirmation can itself become a barrier to delivering the urgent humanitarian response needed to save lives.