Famine is declared in Gaza. Will anything change?

Summary

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Consider This from NPR

Episode: Famine is declared in Gaza. Will anything change?
Date: August 22, 2025
Host: Juana Summers
Featured Guest: Jean Martin Bauer, Director of Food Security and Nutrition Analysis, World Food Program
Field Reporting: Anas Baba in Gaza City with interviewee Ahmad sheikh Khalil

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Episode Overview

This episode addresses the recent official declaration of famine in Gaza by a United Nations-backed committee, after months of grave warnings from aid organizations. Through firsthand accounts and expert analysis, the show explores what this designation truly means, what is required to address the crisis, and whether the declaration will actually change the dire situation for Gazans facing starvation.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Voices from Gaza: The Human Toll (00:00 - 01:50)

• On-the-Ground Perspective:
  NPR producer Anas Baba speaks with Ahmad sheikh Khalil, a 24-year-old in Gaza City, who underscores the severe impact and frustration over the "late" international response:
  • "This declaration is extremely late. We've lost so much weight. We've lost children. Those who've died, died of hunger." (Khalil)
  • Khalil reports that available food and aid is often stolen before reaching those in need, and that acquiring a "bite of food ... will be paid for in blood."
  • He concludes: "We're not expecting help from anyone."

2. What Does a Famine Declaration Mean?

(Interview with Jean Martin Bauer, 03:47 – 08:23)

• Defining Famine (04:00)

  • Bauer outlines that the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) only declares a famine when three strict thresholds are breached:
    1. Extreme food deprivation
    2. Acute malnutrition rates
    3. Excessive starvation-related deaths
  • "All three have now been breached in Gaza City ... that means that there's massive starvation, destitution and death." (Bauer, 04:18)

• The Severity and Spread of Crisis (04:25)

  • The famine declaration currently applies to Gaza City but may soon expand to other governorates (Jerry Elbala and Khan Yunis) in the coming weeks.

• Countering Official Narratives (04:41)

  • Israeli officials (including Prime Minister Netanyahu) contend that famine is not present and blame aid diversion by Hamas.
  • Bauer responds:
    • "Very severe hunger has tripled in Gaza Governorate ... malnutrition among children is accelerating at a catastrophic pace." (Bauer, 04:51)
    • "Collapsing health system, untreated illness and the surge in child disease are pushing death rates higher."
    • Bauer stresses that the IPC findings are based on data reviewed by independent experts.

• Why the Declaration Matters, but May Not Change Reality (05:45)

  • Bauer emphasizes that simply acknowledging famine is not enough:
    • Real change requires "urgent medical support, emergency nutrition," and, crucially, humanitarian access.
    • "When humanitarians are given a chance to respond, the situation does improve." (Bauer, 06:33)
    • Bauer recalls that during a brief ceasefire in February, food prices and indicators of hunger improved, illustrating the positive impact of humanitarian intervention.

• Complexity of the Current Crisis (06:40)

  • Treating acute malnutrition is "extremely complex" and cannot be fixed instantly. Even with more aid trucks, recovery takes weeks.
    • "It’s a slow burn. And unfortunately, that's been triggered already." (Bauer, 06:58)

• What Could Come Next? (07:04)

  • An end to hostilities and improved humanitarian access are necessary for real change.
    • "The fact that a famine has been confirmed today should call us all to act. This is ... on our conscience." (Bauer, 07:49)

• Conditions for Humanitarian Workers (08:03)

  • Aid workers face intense desperation and "malnourished children on the ground."
    • "It’s also a very difficult time for the humanitarians trying to bring assistance." (Bauer, 08:11)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Ahmad sheikh Khalil (Gaza City Interviewee, 00:36):
  "We've lost so much weight. We've lost children. Those who've died, died of hunger. Children have starved. We can no longer even support our weight."

• Jean Martin Bauer (04:18):
  "All three (famine thresholds) have now been breached in Gaza City and that means that there's massive starvation, destitution and death."

• Jean Martin Bauer (04:51):
  "Malnutrition levels in Gaza City have tripled between May and July. Collapsing health system, untreated illness and the surge in child disease are pushing death rates higher."

• Jean Martin Bauer (06:33):
  "When humanitarians are given a chance to respond, the situation does improve."

• Jean Martin Bauer (07:49):
  "The fact that a famine has been confirmed today should call us all to act. This is ... on our conscience."

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Timestamps of Important Segments

• 00:00 — Firsthand account from Ahmad sheikh Khalil in Gaza City
• 03:47 — Start of interview with Jean Martin Bauer (World Food Program)
• 04:00 — Definition and significance of the famine declaration
• 04:41 — Addressing Israeli government statements and data supporting the famine declaration
• 05:45 — Discussion on what, if anything, the declaration changes on the ground
• 06:04 — Complexity of treating famine and malnutrition, need for ceasefire and access
• 07:04 — What comes next for people in Gaza and the role of humanitarian agencies
• 08:03 — Accounts from aid workers in Gaza

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Tone & Language

The episode is sober, direct, and urgent, reflecting the gravity of the humanitarian crisis. Host Juana Summers and guest Jean Martin Bauer maintain professionalism and clear communication, intertwining first-person accounts to highlight the emotional and immediate human impact.

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Summary Conclusion

This episode of Consider This delivers a powerful, ground-level view of Gaza’s declared famine, tackling both the harrowing personal consequences and the immense challenges facing the humanitarian response. The declaration, while significant, is cautioned not to guarantee change on its own—real progress depends on a ceasefire, substantial humanitarian access, and international pressure. The conversation calls listeners to moral awareness and action, emphasizing the crisis’s urgency and the lives at stake.

Transcript

[Juana Summers]

For months, international humanitarian and aid organizations have been warning about the lack of food and aid in Gaza. This as pictures and video of wasted children have been beamed around the world. Now the world's leading authority on food insecurity declared famine has reached Gaza. This is an interview from Gaza City. NPR's producer on the ground, Anas Baba, spoke with Ahmad sheikh Khalil. He's 24 years old, living in Gaza City. Baba asked him for his response to the declaration of famine in Gaza. This declaration is extremely late, says Khalil. We've lost so much weight. We've lost children. Those who've died, died of hunger. Children have starved. We can no longer even support our weight. We've still not seen any of the food and aid that are supposed to be entering. What does come in gets stolen. If you want even just one bite of food, he says, it will be paid for in blood. The strength and patience we have in us is from God, he says. We're not expecting help from anyone. Consider this. After months of warnings, famine has officially been declared in Gaza. But will this declaration change anything for the hundreds of thousands of people experiencing starvation? From npr, I'm Juana Summers.

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[Juana Summers]

It'S consider this from npr. 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 man made. And one third of Gaza's population, 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 Program. He joins us now. Welcome to the program.

[Jean Martin Bauer]

Thanks.

[Juana Summers]

We have been hearing news about food shortages in Gaza for months now. So just start by telling us what, what is different right now that leads the IPC to officially call this a famine.

[Jean Martin Bauer]

So today's IPC findings confirm that famine's 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, Jerry Elbala and Khan Yunis. And this is within the next few weeks.

[Juana 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?

[Jean Martin Bauer]

Look, 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 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 government which includes Gaza City, and that it could spread. The IPC is the gold standard in terms of international food security analysis.

[Juana 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?

[Jean Martin Bauer]

Well, addressing famine in Gaza will require not only food but also urgent medical support, emergency nutrition, and would actually 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, is that we have this exponential increase in acute malnutrition, which is extremely complex to treat. And once you're in these uncharted waters, it's not as easy as just letting trucks in. That malnutrition takes weeks to treat. It's a slow burn. And unfortunately, that's been triggered already. And this is a new facet to a very complex crisis in Gaza.

[Juana 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.

[Jean Martin 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. 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 UN Esteemed on our conscience.

[Juana 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?

[Jean Martin Bauer]

They're saying that there's desperation, that they see malnourished children on the ground. It's also a very difficult time for the humanitarians trying to bring assistance.

[Juana Summers]

We've been speaking with John Martin Bauer. He's the director of food security and nutrition analysis for the World Food Program. Thank you so much.

[Jean Martin Bauer]

Thank you.

[Juana Summers]

This episode was produced by Michael Levitt with audio engineering by Hannah Glovna. It was edited by Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sammy Yenigun. Thanks to our Consider this plus listeners who support the work of NPR journalists and help keep public radio strong. Supporters also hear every episode without messages from sponsors. Learn [e-mail] It's Consider this from NPR. I'm Juana Summers.

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