MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th June, 2023) The United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) announced on Friday that it was temporarily suspending food aid to Ethiopia due to an investigation into food aid diversion.
"While we will temporarily halt food aid assistance in Ethiopia, nutrition assistance to children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, school meals programs, and activities for building the resilience of farmers and pastoralists will continue uninterrupted," the statement said.
The aid will resume once the agency is able to "ensure that food reaches the people who need it the most."
The WFP vowed to put together a comprehensive action plan that would strengthen food safeguards and controls in Ethiopia, use technology to identify those most in need, reinforce food tracking all the way to beneficiary families and improve the reporting of violations.
The move comes on the heels of USAID's announcement on Thursday that it was suspending aid in Ethiopia after detecting food misappropriation.
