Nicholas Haan, architect of global system to detect famines, dies at 60

Nicholas Haan, the innovator and humanitarian who created the world’s most influential tool for detecting famines and galvanizing humanitarian responses to them, died on Dec. 2. He was 60 years old.

Twenty-one years ago, Haan created the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, a tool that reshaped how the world recognizes and responds to hunger crises. Today, aid agencies, governments, and donors rely on the United Nations-coordinated system to measure and compare food crises across countries and over time, helping guide billions of dollars in humanitarian funding and decisions that affect millions of people living through conflict, drought, and economic shocks.

“Nicholas established foundational systems that continue to guide humanitarian response and save countless lives worldwide,” Data Friendly Space, a nonprofit focused on improving data use in humanitarian response, wrote on LinkedIn. “His legacy of innovation, compassion, and unwavering commitment to serving humanity will continue to inspire our work in data and food security, as well as the entire humanitarian community.”