Famine / Food Insecurity

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Press release

'Let’s sleep early so we don’t feel the hunger' - humanitarian workers in Gaza struggling in midst of famine

Geneva, 28 August 2025: Following the IPC’s formal confirmation of famine in Gaza, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) today warns that malnourishment among humanitarian workers is threatening life-saving work.The IFRC is the world’s largest humanitarian network. Our staff and volunteers are not immune to the hunger facing Gaza right now. They are continuing to risk their own lives for others, while also suffering from hunger and desperately struggling to find food for their families.Many of our colleagues are malnourished and weak, surviving on just one meal a day. But even then, most choose to give that meal to their children. A lack of food kills more slowly, but just as surely as a bomb. Humanitarians need protection fromallthat threatens them.A mother of three tells us how she boils water with tree leaves and tells her daughters it’s juice, just so they can have something to sip. Another staff member at the Palestine Red Crescent (PRCS) shares:“In Gaza, there’s no difference between night and day. Fear has no schedule, and death does not respect sleeping hours. Do you know what it means to get used to hunger? That food becomes a dream. You learn to save a loaf of bread to last the whole day. That you apologise to your children because all you can offer them is: ‘Be patient.’” This is an emergency. Aid is not reaching people safely or at the scale required. Action much be taken, at scale, or more children, more families, more communities will starve.The declaration of famine is not merely a reflection of urgency—it is an unequivocal call to action. Every hour of delay means more lives lost. This catastrophe must be stopped from deepening further.This is a man-made disaster and a failure of humanity. Aid must reach Gaza. NOW.For more information or to request an interview, please contact: [email protected] Beirut:Joanna Daou:+961 71 802 779In Geneva:Tommaso Della Longa: +41 79 708 43 67 Hannah Copeland: +41 76 236 9109

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Article

Sudan: 'the most difficult year' after outbreak of conflict

One year after the outbreak of violence in Sudan that killed thousands of people and displaced as many as 8.6 million others, the volunteers and staff of the Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) are still working around the clock with limited resources to meet massive humanitarian needs.Wajdan Hassan Ahmed has been volunteering with her National Society for 16 years. She describes the 12 months following 15 April 2023 – when residents of the capital Khartoum woke to the terrifying sound of gunfire and explosions – as the most difficult year of her life.“The stories I experienced at the beginning of the war – the evacuations of people disfigured by bomb shrapnel, the stories of fathers who had lost their daughters, mothers who had lost their children, parents who lost their whole family… all these stories have stayed with me, and I cannot forget them,” she said.Psychosocial supportAs well as helping to evacuate people and bring them to safety far away from the fighting, Wajdan and her Red Crescent colleagues have been providing much-needed psychosocial support as well as food, water, and information.Many families were separated in the panic caused by the violence, and the resulting displacement within and outwith Sudan has pushed people far away from their loved ones. The Sudanese Red Crescent’s Restoring Family Links service is still helping to connect and reunite them.“We’re working hard to reunite families who have [been separated from] their children,” Wajdan said. “Some are aged seven to ten, and others of different ages.”Health clinicsSRCS teams have also been operating both fixed and mobile health clinics, helping at-risk people to get the care they need, wherever they may be. An estimated 80 per cent of Sudan’s healthcare facilities have stopped functioning since the crisis began, putting intense pressure on existing community-based Red Crescent health services.As a trusted neutral and impartial organization with thousands of highly trained volunteers and a permanent presence in communities in all 18 States, the SRCS has been at the forefront of the response during this past year. Around 4,000 volunteers have been directly involved in the emergency response.The IFRC had been working closely with SRCS and the ICRC long before the start of the conflict and will continue to do so for as long as people are in need. Many partner Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies have also given support, resources and personnel to enhance the response operations. These include National Societies from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Spain, Sweden , Switzerland, and Türkiye.UnderfundedAnEmergency Appealwas launched by IFRC in support of the Sudan Red Crescent Society, although this appeal remains underfunded.A regional population movement appeal was also launched to help National Societies in Egypt, Chad, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Ethiopia and Libya to support people displaced from Sudan.Both appeals are critical in providing aid and relief to those affected by the ongoing crisis in Sudan and the surrounding region. More funding is needed to meet the urgent needs of these vulnerable populations.Call to actionThe IFRC and the Sudanese Red Crescent are calling upon all parties in Sudan to reflect on the humanitarian challenges that the conflict has posed. Despite the support that has been mobilized — around 10 per cent of the total required — nothing will be able to fill these gaps if the root causes are not addressed.The Red Cross and Red Crescent network calls upon all parties to come together for the sake of humanity and for the people, including children, who are suffering due to this ongoing conflict. And it calls on people around the world to support the critical emergency appeals that will help us ensure that affected communities and families can overcome this crisis, now entering its second year.

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Press release

Afghanistan: Worst drought and hunger crisis in decades

Kuala Lumpur/Kabul/Geneva, 2 December – Afghanistan is in the grip of one of the worst droughts and food shortage crises in decades, threatening an unrivalled humanitarian catastrophe as a bitter winter looms large for millions of Afghans. Emergency food relief and winter survival kits are being urgently delivered by Afghan Red Crescent to people in areas worst affected by severe food shortages, supported by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). Around 22.8 million people – 55 per cent of Afghanistan’s population – are experiencing high levels of acute food shortages. Severe drought has hit more than 80 percent of the country, crippling food production and forcing people from their land. Nearly 700,000 people have been internally displaced this year, joining some 3.5 million people already forced from their homes throughout the country, who all face a harsh winter, when temperatures can drop as low as -20C in some areas of Afghanistan. Mawlawi Mutiul Haq Khales, Afghan Red Crescent Acting President, said: “Afghans have shown remarkable resilience in the face of this latest drought, growing hunger and decades of conflict. Millions of people are struggling to survive due to wholescale crop losses, acute food shortages, and a lack of cash to buy basic necessities. “Afghan Red Crescent teams have not stopped helping people with relief and healthcare, but the vast majority of families remain unassisted, lacking adequate food provisions, money for the very basic needs and survival kits to get through the harsh winter months ahead.” The IFRC is providing 3,000 tonnes of food relief for 210,000 people and winter survival kits are being urgently delivered by Afghan Red Crescent in some of the hardest hit provinces for those suffering shortages and loss of income. To mitigate the misery and hardships of winter, families are being provided with winter kits, including blankets, thermal insulation and heaters but additional funding is needed to expand the humanitarian operations. As part of this ongoing support, the IFRC is urgently appealing to the international community for more than 36 million Swiss francs to support Afghan Red Crescent to deliver emergency relief and recovery assistance to 560,000 people in 16 provinces worst affected by severe drought and displacement. Alexander Matheou, Asia Pacific Director, IFRC, who is currently in Afghanistan, said: “This is the worst drought and hunger crisis faced by Afghans in living memory. Much faster international action is needed to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe in the coming months. “We are in a race against time to deliver life-saving relief and supplies ahead of a harsh winter which will cut off some of Afghanistan's most vulnerable people from any chance of assistance. “People are already going hungry in Afghanistan and conditions are continuing to deteriorate. I have spoken to doctors who are reporting increased cases of acute malnutrition amongst children. It will only get worse in the weeks ahead.” As well as immediate relief, IFRC appeal funds will help with establishing more drought-resistant crops and revitalising livestock, while supporting critical income generation for women, the elderly and those most at risk of spiralling poverty. For more information or to arrange an interview, contact: In Kuala Lumpur: Antony Balmain, +60 12 230 8451, [email protected] In Geneva: Ann Vaessen, +41 79 405 77 50, [email protected]

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