In a statement, Ethiopia director, Claude Jibidar, says that “WFP is very concerned about the large-scale sale of food in some markets” which “poses not only a reputational risk but also threatens our capacity to mobilize more resources for the needy people.” He adds that it “is therefore imperative that immediate actions be taken to curb … the misappropriation and diversion of humanitarian food” in the country. The letter is dated April 5 and addressed to humanitarian partners of WFP in Ethiopia, where drought and internal conflict have left 20 million of the country’s 120 million people reliant on aid. The letter does not mention any specific cases. However, two aid workers told AP the stolen aid included enough food for 100,000 people and was recently discovered missing from a warehouse in Sheraro, a town badly affected by the conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region.
SOURCE: AFRICA NEWS