U.S. food aid resumes to refugees in Ethiopia after months-long pause

The United States Agency for International Development said Thursday it will resume sending food aid to refugees in Ethiopia after pausing the program in June. USAID paused all aid to the country after uncovering a “coordinated diversion scheme” of stealing and re-selling food assistance. Officials said the program was partially restarted after the Ethiopian government agreed to remove itself from the storage, transportation, and dispersion of aid to refugees.

Why is aid still paused for non-refugee Ethiopians? USAID confirmed that aid to the rest of Ethiopia will remain paused until they are certain the aid will be safe from theft. The agency said it is still working with the Ethiopian government to enact reforms ensuring the aid is properly dispersed. The agency acknowledged how heavily Ethiopians depend on foreign aid and said the United States “stands with the people of Ethiopia,” but reiterated that stealing aid is unacceptable. Around 1,400 Ethiopians died of starvation from June to August during the food aid pause, the BBC reported.

Dig deeper: Read Onize Ohikere’s report in WORLD Magazine on widespread famine across the Horn of Africa.