People in Sudan and Gaza are starving. The international community must act

‘There’s no case in recent decades that matches Gaza’s severity of starvation or speed of descent into such a state.’ Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

I care about both Gaza and Sudan. It’s distasteful to compare extreme human suffering. But we can use the international metrics for famine to explain why each humanitarian crisis is uniquely terrible – and why people caught in both need urgent action.

Sudan is the largest food crisis in the world by the sheer numbers affected. The country’s warring generals can immediately end the worst hunger by agreeing to a ceasefire and facilitating humanitarian aid. But it’s a complicated, deep-rooted crisis that will take years to resolve.