APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) USAID has announced that it will resume food assistance to refugee populations in Ethiopia after the government and implementing partners made reforms to food assistance structure.
“The resumption of food assistance to refugees will save lives and alleviate suffering for some of the most vulnerable. Reforms put in place will strengthen program monitoring and oversight, reinforce commodity tracking, and improve beneficiary registration processes,” USAID said Friday in a statement.
USAID previously paused all food assistance in Ethiopia following alleged identification of a coordinated food aid diversion to troops in Tigray region.
“While we are resuming assistance for refugee populations, our assistance for other food insecure populations across Ethiopia remains paused until we have assurance it will reach its intended beneficiaries,” it said .
USAID said it will continue working with the Ethiopian government on additional reforms that will help ensure that assistance is provided based on assessed vulnerability and need – consistent with international best practice.
USAID’s priority is to resume food assistance for those in needs as soon as possible, the statement said noting it is implementing a comprehensive plan to mitigate the risk of diversions food aid around the world.
“We are engaging our partners on how they can quickly identify and address risks of diversion and help ensure food assistance gets to those who need it most,” it added.
MG/abj/APA