Unseen Hunger: Data, tools and insights for better food security analysis and response

Overview

This report presents findings from an Oxfam-led initiative designed to address pervasive “gender blindness” within the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) framework. Through mixed-method pilots in Lebanon and South Sudan, the research confirms that traditional household-level assessments routinely mask severe intra-household disparities. Key findings demonstrate that women and girls disproportionately absorb food scarcity through self-sacrifice and chronic dietary collapse, often framing individual deprivation as a “maternal duty”. To reform these assessments, the report introduces an adapted modular toolkit that mandates qualitative analysis and individual-level indicators. It provides strategic recommendations to institutionalize gender-sensitive data collection, fund metrics like MDD-W, and guarantee women’s control over resources, ensuring that humanitarian responses effectively reach the most marginalized and “hidden” hungry.