That included allegations that some senior Ethiopian officials were extensively involved. At a private meeting last week in Ethiopia, U.S. aid officials told international partners that this could be the largest-ever diversion of food aid in any country, aid workers said. With USAID giving Ethiopia’s government $1.8 billion in humanitarian assistance since 2022, a delay in providing food aid causes widespread pain. There were also signs that people whom the USAID official described only as “market actors” were forcing hungry families to surrender food aid they received — something that WFP suspects as well. “The first principle of humanitarian aid is to do no harm.

Source: Ethiopian News June 22, 2023 10:16 UTC