The United States’ Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced that it was suspending food aid to Ethiopia because its donations were being diverted from people in need.
In a statement, USAID spokesperson said the agency had determined, in coordination with the Ethiopian government, that a “widespread and coordinated campaign is diverting food assistance from the people of Ethiopia”.
The statement did not say who was behind the campaign.
Records have it that the U.S. is by far the largest humanitarian donor to Ethiopia, where more than 20 million people need food aid, most of them due to drought and a recently-concluded war in the northern Tigray region.
Local reports have it that according to an internal briefing by a group of foreign donors to Ethiopia, USAID believes the food has been diverted to Ethiopian military units.
A document from the Humanitarian and Resilience Donor Group (HRDG), which includes USAID, said “The scheme appears to be orchestrated by federal and regional government entities, with military units across the country benefiting from humanitarian assistance”.
A joint statement by USAID and Ethiopia’s foreign affairs ministry said “The two governments are conducting investigations so that the perpetrators of such diversion are held to account”.
It was reported that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the issue with Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen on the sidelines of a conference in Saudi Arabia.
A statement by the State Department said afterwards that Blinken welcomed a commitment by Ethiopia’s government to work with the United States to conduct a full investigation.
The spokesperson USAID noted that the agency intended to resume food assistance as soon as it was confident in the integrity of the system.
It is imperative to state that a two-year war in Tigray between the federal government and forces led by the region’s dominant political party ended in a truce in November after killing tens of thousands of people and creating famine-like conditions for hundreds of thousands.
Records have it that in the 2022 fiscal year, USAID disbursed nearly $1.5 billion in humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia, most of it food aid.
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