Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 10th June. The World Food Programme on Friday has announced the immediate temporary suspension of food assistance toEthiopia after media reports of widespread theft of aid deliveries in the county.
WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain said that “Food diversion is absolutely unacceptable,” after a joint statement made by Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and USAID announced their commitment to address deeply concerning revelations of aid diversion.
“While we will temporarily halt food aid assistance in Ethiopia, nutrition assistance to children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, school meals programmes, and activities for building the resilience of farmers and pastoralists will continue uninterrupted,” she said.
Ms. McCain welcomed the Ethiopian Government’s commitment to investigate and hold accountable those responsible.
According to media reports, over the past months, large aid deliveries have been stolen.
“Our first concern is the millions of hungry people who depend on our support, and our teams will work tirelessly with all partners to resume our operations as soon as we can ensure that food reaches the people who need it the most,” the SFP chief said.
According to WFP over 20 million people in Ethiopia need humanitarian food assistance due to the long-lasting effects of conflict and drought in the country.
“WFP is working closely with its UN and humanitarian partners and local stakeholders to reform the way assistance is delivered across Ethiopia and in all high-risk operational contexts where we work,” Ms. McCain said.
She added that the agency takes this issue very seriously and will take every necessary step to ensure that critical food assistance reaches those who need it most.
Comments are closed.