“USAID Suspends Food Aid in Tigray, Ethiopia Due to Concerns of Misuse and Theft”

The American aid organization USAID temporarily stops providing food aid in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. The reason is that there are indications that the food does not reach the population directly, but is sold on the local market. So says Samantha Powers, the head of USAID.

The decision follows a similar decision by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP). The WFP decided to pause food aid to Tigray early this week after the organization launched an investigation last month into the theft of food intended for the hungry.

Powers says cutting off food aid is a difficult decision because millions of Ethiopians in the north of the country are still acutely hungry. Not all US aid to the region has been halted. USAID still provides life-saving nutritional supplements, drinking water and, for example, also supports agricultural activities.

Food shortages are a persistent problem in Ethiopia, which, like other countries in the Horn of Africa, has been plagued by several disasters for years. Until recently, there was also a civil war, which started as a conflict between the national government and the rulers in the northern state of Tigray and spread to other regions. The violence came to an end at the end of last year after both sides signed an agreement on a ceasefire.

The United Nations wrote one last year rapport on the war crimes committed by all sides in the conflict in Tigray. For example, the UN accused the government of using starvation as a weapon. According to the UN, there were also indications that the army destroyed livestock, food stores and crops.

A dire situation has also arisen in neighboring Sudan, where the Sudanese army and the paramilitary RSF militia have been fighting for more than two weeks. Aid organization Red Cross announced today that it will open an account for the victims in Sudan. According to the organization, there is a shortage of water, food and shelter. Soon the Red Cross wants to send a plane with medical material and aid workers.