Ethiopia - WFP still reeling from the diversion scandal / McCain vows 'never again on my watch' : DEVEX
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The food aid scandal in Ethiopia is a colossal embarrassment, but Cindy McCain, who took over WFP in April, says it will not happen again — not on her watch, at least.
WFP was forced to halt assistance to Ethiopia in June after discovering “widespread” food diversion, as government officials reportedly lined their pockets selling goods on the black market.
All this came at a time when a lack of funding and supplies were forcing WFP to cut sharply the numbers of people for whom it can provide food aid in other major programme countries, including Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and for the Rohingya in Bangladesh.
In a country reeling from civil war and struggling through a historic drought, 20 million people rely on humanitarian assistance.
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Main Points
*The World Food Programme (WFP) suspended its food aid to Ethiopia in June 2023 after discovering "widespread" food diversion.
*The diversion took place in December and January 2023, but WFP did not discover it until much later.
* Senior Ethiopian government officials were selling food aid on the black market and pocketing the profits.
* WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain said the agency was "not as quick to withdraw as we should have been" from Ethiopia.
* McCain said WFP is "doing everything we can now to make sure that this never happens again."
* WFP is "revamping" the way both commodities and beneficiaries are tracked and traced.
* McCain said WFP needs to "be absolutely sure, as much as we can in a country like Ethiopia, that it's going to where it's supposed to go."
*WFP will scale up the delivery changes throughout all of its operations.
* There is no evidence that any WFP staff were involved in the aid diversion.
* McCain said WFP had taken a "no regrets" approach to delivering food aid in Ethiopia, but that it "failed."
* McCain said WFP will "never let this happen again."
* The food aid suspension has affected 20 million people in Ethiopia who rely on humanitarian assistance.
* WFP has maintained other programs in Ethiopia, such as nutrition assistance, school meals, and programs for farmers and herders.
* McCain said WFP is working with the Ethiopian government to ensure that the new tracking and tracing system is in place before food distribution resumes.
* McCain said she does not have a timeline for when food distribution will resume in Ethiopia.
"Click here for the full article"
Main Points
*The World Food Programme (WFP) suspended its food aid to Ethiopia in June 2023 after discovering "widespread" food diversion.
*The diversion took place in December and January 2023, but WFP did not discover it until much later.
* Senior Ethiopian government officials were selling food aid on the black market and pocketing the profits.
* WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain said the agency was "not as quick to withdraw as we should have been" from Ethiopia.
* McCain said WFP is "doing everything we can now to make sure that this never happens again."
* WFP is "revamping" the way both commodities and beneficiaries are tracked and traced.
* McCain said WFP needs to "be absolutely sure, as much as we can in a country like Ethiopia, that it's going to where it's supposed to go."
*WFP will scale up the delivery changes throughout all of its operations.
* There is no evidence that any WFP staff were involved in the aid diversion.
* McCain said WFP had taken a "no regrets" approach to delivering food aid in Ethiopia, but that it "failed."
* McCain said WFP will "never let this happen again."
* The food aid suspension has affected 20 million people in Ethiopia who rely on humanitarian assistance.
* WFP has maintained other programs in Ethiopia, such as nutrition assistance, school meals, and programs for farmers and herders.
* McCain said WFP is working with the Ethiopian government to ensure that the new tracking and tracing system is in place before food distribution resumes.
* McCain said she does not have a timeline for when food distribution will resume in Ethiopia.
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