Ethiopians caught in the middle

Weeks after the US and UN halted food aid deliveries to Ethiopia over the massive theft of supplies, Ethiopians are beginning to die of hunger because of the pause, according to new reports.

Quick recap: Earlier this month, the US announced that it was suspending food and medical supplies to Ethiopia because storage facilities were being looted – including by government officials – and sold on the commercial market.

The move was a huge blow for Addis Ababa as the US is by far its largest humanitarian donor, doling out $1.8 billion since the beginning of 2022. Confirming the findings, the UN World Food Programme promptly followed suit.

What happens now? The US says it is looking at food aid reforms in the country, though it is unclear when shipments will resume or if the central government will play ball, considering that some of its own have been implicated in the scheme. The Ethiopian government has agreed to conduct a joint probe with the US, while the UN is conducting its own.

Indeed, this is a catastrophe in a country – burdened by a civil war in the northern Tigray region that broke out in 2021 – where 20 million people rely on food assistance.

For the US, this also highlights the dilemma of delivering aid to countries grappling with endemic corruption and poor governance. On one hand, continuing to hand out goods sends a message to the bad guys that theft is permissible. It also makes it harder to convince taxpayers at home that it is worth aiding countries embroiled in drawn-out crises (hello, Ukraine!). On the other hand, the humanitarian argument for continuing to provide supplies that will reach at least some needy Ethiopians is clear-cut.

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