WFP halts much-needed food aid to Ethiopia’s Tigray
Of the 6 million people living in Ethiopia’s Tigray, more than 5 million depend on aid, as per media reports.
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In this file photo taken on September 15, 2021, men carry a sack of wheat distributed by the World Food Program (WFP) for internally displaced people in Ethiopia. (AFP)
The World Food Programme has halted aid deliveries to Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region citing claims of shipments being diverted to local markets and not to destined beneficiaries.
The distribution “will not resume until WFP can ensure that vital aid will reach its intended recipients,” the organization stated.
The World Food Program is in charge of distributing food to Tigray, which was the scene of a horrific, two-year civil war that came to an end in November with a ceasefire.
Of the 6 million people living in the region, more than 5 million depend on aid, as per AP.
The organization could not determine who was stealing the food supplies and selling them.
However, it reportedly brought up the matter with regional and federal officials in Tigray, Ethiopia.
The WFP said it had directed regional officials to monitor and report illegal activities and enforce food distribution agreements.
The organization said it “takes this issue extremely seriously and will not tolerate any interference in its distribution of critical food aid to the most vulnerable women, men, and children.”
