EU temporarily holds back food aid in Somalia after UN finds widespread theft

The European Union executive has temporarily suspended funding for the World Food Programme (WFP) in Somalia, after a U.N. investigation found widespread theft and misuse of aid meant to avert famine.
The European Commission reportedly gave more than $7 million in aid to the WFP’s operations in Somalia last year, a fraction of the donations of more than $1 billion it received, U.N. data shows. EU member states gave much more money on a bilateral basis. It was not immediately clear whether any would also suspend aid.

One senior EU official said the decision was taken after the U.N. investigation concluded that landowners, local authorities, members of the security forces and humanitarian workers were all involved in stealing aid intended for vulnerable people.

Three months ago the WFP and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) suspended food aid to neighboring Ethiopia in response to the widespread diversion of donations.

However, The Somalia Disaster Management Office, which coordinates the government’s humanitarian response, said in a statement that Somalia authorities were committed to investigating the U.N. report’s findings, while adding that current aid delivery systems operate “outside of the government channels”.

The European Commission contributes 10 million euros ($10.69 million) to Somalia and Ethiopia via the WFP, with the suspension covering part of that, according to one of the senior EU officials.