Christopher Barrett, an expert on food aid at Cornell University, is one of many scholars, politicians and aid agencies demanding reform. "A conservative estimate is that we sacrifice roughly 40,000 children's lives annually because of antiquated food aid policies," he told Congress in November. FROM FOOD TO CASHIn 2011, a few donors gave out cash in Somalia, but the World Food Programme only gave out food. Arguments that food aid supported U.S. farmers or mariners were largely false, he said. But most scholars agree that switching to more cash aid would save more lives, a 2016 briefing paper by the Congressional Research Service concluded.

Source: Ethiopian News March 23, 2018 14:15 UTC