Late last week The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification or IPC, declared a famine in Gaza, warning that 41,000 children are at a heightened risk of death. The report said that the number of people facing – what they referred to as ‘emergency’ conditions – is expected to rise to 1.14 million people, or around half of the total population of Gaza, which is currently about 2.1 million people. 

Under IPC criteria, a famine can only be formally declared when three conditions are met: at least 20% of households face extreme food shortages, at least 30% are acutely malnourished, and two or more people per 10,000 die each day from hunger or hunger-related diseases.

To talk about what is only the fifth declared famine in the last 15 years, Producer Max spoke with ChildFund CEO Josie Pagani, to discuss what New Zealand can do to immediately help the situation.