Acute Food Insecurity Area Classification Data

Preparing acute food insecurity area classification data

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) data template can be used to create multiple Data Collections from one upload.

Acute Food Insecurity Classifications (AFIC) should be entered on the first tab of the Excel file. Use additional tabs for Humanitarian Food Assistance (HFA) and Internally Displaced People (IDP) data as applicable. The IDP tab captures both AFIC and HFA data for IDP camps. 

FDW automatically creates separate Data Collections for AFIC and HFA data when you upload the file using the Add a new Data Collection and Offline Data Upload options.

The first month in the data collection period includes the CS (current situation), ML (near term projection of three months), ML2 (medium term projection of six months). The outlook collection date is the first date from the current state through four months. A new collection date begins after four months.

Template guidelines

Use the dropdown boxes in row 1 to indicate the type of report, and the dropdown boxes in row 2 to indicate if there was a change in data from the previous month.

Enter data into the spreadsheet using the guidelines below.

Metadata requirements

Ensure all required metadata is populated:

• All tabs should include the FNID and CN/Country with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 two letter code.

• AFIC and HFA tabs should include ADMIN1, plus ADMIN2, LZCODE, and LZNAME columns as applicable. The HFA tab should also include long and lat columns.

• The IDP tab should include LOC_EN, columns for X and Y coordinates, SOURCE, and REGION.

Data entry requirements

Ensure that the entire IPC Phase, HA, and HFA columns for your target month is populated with data. There should be no blank cells. 

IPC Phase values

Take note of the following when preparing IPC Phase values:

• Enter 99 for no data. FDW will map the area in gray.

• Enter 88 to map the national park symbology (Malawi, Uganda, Zimbabwe).

• To include a modified phase description, replace the phase number in the report columns (FSO, FSOU, FSA, or KMU) with the description as written in the table below. You do not need to adjust the data in the ArcGIS Mapping columns.

HA values

HA column data controls the exclamation points that indicate if outcomes would likely be at least one phase worse without current or planned humanitarian food assistance.

Take note of the following when preparing HA values:

• Enter 1 in the HA columns if you need to indicate that the Phase would be at least one Phase worse without anticipated food assistance. Otherwise, enter 0.

HFA values

HFA column data controls the wheat bags that indicate if at least 25 percent of households receive on average over 50 percent of caloric needs through HFA.

Take note of the following when preparing HFA values:

• Enter NC in the HFA columns to indicate HFA has not been assessed and NA to indicate that there is no significant HFA available. 

• Use 0 in the HFA columns only to indicate that < 25% of the population are dependent on food aid.

Internal data

Separate Source Documents designated as FEWS NET/USG Only must exist in FDW before uploading internal data. The naming convention for these Source Documents is [Report type] (FEWS NET/USG Only), [Country], for example Food Security Outlook (FEWS NET/USG Only), Afghanistan. Food Security analysts should coordinate with the DST Data Management Advisor and Senior GIS Specialist to add new Source Documents.

When preparing a file for internal IPC data, the column headings must specify that the data is internal (for example, FSO Internal rather than FSO). This is necessary for FDW to determine the correct Source Document to use for the data.

Remote monitoring data

Data for all remote monitoring (RM) countries are included on the RM data template. Remote monitoring data cannot be uploaded unless mapping data is filled in for all countries listed in the sheet. This file should not be uploaded for individual countries.  

Uploading acute food insecurity area classification data

The options for uploading data using the Add a new Data Collection, Offline Data Uploads, and Import Acute Food Insecurity Phases screens are described below.

Add a new Data Collection

Use Add a new Data Collection when uploading a small number of Data Collections as it provides immediate feedback on the success of the upload. Small Data Collections may upload within 1 minute, while the upload time for larger Data Collections, such as Ethiopia, may be 20+ minutes.

To access the Add a new Data Collection screen, go to Data Entry > Add a new Data Collection (manually or by uploading a file).

Complete the following steps:

1. Source Document: Select the Source Document that matches the data to be uploaded. For example, when uploading November 2025 data, you will select the Key Message Update Source Document for that country.

2. Collection Date: Use the first date of the report month. For example, 2025-10-01 for the October 2025 FSO, and 2025-11-01 for the November 2025 KMU.

3. File: Select the completed template for that country and month.

4. Select Save.

   1. Save will populate the data uploaded with each numerical value representing one data point. 

After the upload successfully completes, you will see the Humanitarian Food Assistance and Acute Food Insecurity Classification Data Collections listed on the Data Collections screen (Data Processing > Display or edit an existing Data Collection).

Offline Data Uploads

Use Offline Data Uploads when uploading a large number of data collections to save time and protect against errors due to loss of connectivity.

To access the Offline Data Uploads screen, go to Data Entry > Offline Data Uploads and click the Add data upload button.

Complete the following steps:

1. Click Choose File and select the file.

2. Import format: Select the format of the file you have selected.

3. Subtype: Select Acute Food Insecurity Phase.

4. Country: Select the country name.

5. Click Save.

The Offline Data Uploads screen will list the upload with a status of Processing. You will receive an email notifying you of the outcome of your upload. Once successfully uploaded, you will see both the Acute Food Security Phase and Humanitarian Food Assistance uploads listed.

Import acute food insecurity phases

You can use the Dataseries Management module to import Acute Food Insecurity Phase Data Points. Acute Food Insecurity Classification Data Series will be implicitly created when adding the Data Points.

There are several important considerations when using this option:

• You must remain on the page until the upload is confirmed. As this may take several minutes, this method is only recommended for smaller Datasets.

• HFA data cannot be uploaded at the same time as the Acute Food Insecurity Phases. To upload HFA data using this method, go to Data Series management > Data Points > Humanitarian Food Assistance.

To access the Acute Food Insecurity Phase import screen, go to Data Series Management > Data Points > Acute Food Insecurity Phases.

Complete the following steps:

1. Click Import Acute Food Insecurity Phases.

2. Select the file to import and the file format.

3. Click Submit.

The system will check which Collection Periods currently exist in FDW and create ones which do not. The system will also update existing data in FDW if the file contains changes.

Reviewing and publishing acute food insecurity area classification data

Reviewing data

Open the AFIC Data Collection by clicking the title. There should be a Collection Period for each scenario in the Collection Periods table.

Click the Edit button for each Collection Period and review the data.

If the data is correct, update the status of the Data Collection to Submitted. Repeat the review process for the HFA Data Collection.

Correcting data

If your data is in draft status and has not yet been published, you have two options to make corrections:

• For most cases you should upload the corrected file using the Change Data Collection screen and FDW will edit the existing Data Collection to reflect the changes. (Note: The date shown in the Status Changed column only refers to a change in the Data Collection Status in FDW, and not changes to the data itself.)

• If only AFIC data was uploaded and not HFA data, delete the Data Collection and upload the corrected file. 

If your data has already been published, make corrections using the following steps:

1. Change the status of the Data Collection(s) to Under Review.

   1. If your file has HFA data, change both HFA and AFIC Data Collections to Under Review.

2. Re-upload the file from the Change Data Collection screen.

3. Review the updated data.

4. Republish the Data Collection(s).

Visualizing submitted data

Once your data is in submitted status, you can create an Acute Food Insecurity Map in the FEWS NET Data Explorer (FDE) as part of your review. Only FDW users with the necessary permissions can create and view visualizations with submitted data. For detailed information on building the Acute Food Insecurity Map, visit the FDE Knowledge Base.

Publishing data

To publish the data:

1. Go to Data Processing > Display or edit an existing Data Collection (including Submit, Review and Publish) and select the Data Collection you just created.

   1. To filter your search, use the available dates at the top of the page and in the Filter sidebar select Acute Food Insecurity Classification. To filter for HFA data, select Humanitarian Food Assistance.

2. Open the Data Collection by clicking the title. Review the Data Collection and Collection Periods added. 

3. To submit the data, click the Submit button. 

4. To publish the data, open the Data Collection again and click the Publish button.

5. If you realize that the Data Collection was not ready for publishing, you can click the Review button to change its status to Under Review.