Martin Plaut posted: " Source: Addis Standard JUNE 8, 2023 Women in the Afar region of Ethiopia receive emergency food assistance. Photo: ©WFP/Claire Nevill Addis Abeba – Following the suspension of food aid delivery by the USAID and WFP, which at first " Martin Plaut

Source: Addis Standard

JUNE 8, 2023

Women in the Afar region of Ethiopia receive emergency food assistance. Photo: ©WFP/Claire Nevill

Addis Abeba – Following the suspension of food aid delivery by the USAID and WFP, which at first appeared to have been triggered by food aid diversion in the war-torn Tigray regional state, an internal memo of a recent meeting by the donor community in Ethiopia obtained by Addis Standard revealed that the result of an “extensive monitoring” over the course of the last two months conducted by USAID, the single largest food aid provider to Ethiopia, has identified “a country-wide diversion scheme primarily targeting donor-funded food commodities” and is “a coordinated and criminal scheme, which has prevented life-saving food assistance from reaching the most vulnerable.”

A memo prepared by Humanitarian and Resilience Donor Group (HRDG), which is “a platform allowing donors to coordinate their activities in support of a strategic, effective, efficient, and principled humanitarian response,” among others, also shows that the “monitoring visits at 63 flour mills in seven of Ethiopia’s nine regions, and witnessed significant diversion of USAID-funded humanitarian food commodities across all seven regions.”

A field trip by Addis Standard team in March to Borana, Oromia region, found community members in Yabelo, the administrative capital of the drought-hit Borana zone, in Southern Oromia, reeling in the midst of allegations on the rising cases of corruption in aid administration that saw a portion of the aid deliveries are taken for personal use by the people in charge of local aid distribution.

The “scheme appears to be orchestrated” by federal and regional governments entities, “with military units across the country benefiting from humanitarian assistance. Private grain and flour traders and operators have also played a role in the scheme,” the memo reads.

The monitoring by the USAID has also observed evidence of “diversion of other donor-funded commodities” including “wheat donated from France, Japan, and Ukraine through implementing partner World Food Program (WFP).” In September last year, Ukraine has donated 50,000 metric tons of grain for Ethiopia and Somalia through WFP, which has since been delivered in various batches.

The outcome of the motioning seems to have a wide-range implication on the overall food aid delivery to Ethiopia. According to the HRDG memo, “there is a strong possibility that USAID will pause all USAID-supported food assistance across Ethiopia until further notice.” The US government has provided a whooping $1.8 billion aid in lifesaving assistance since the 2022 fiscal year alone.

Although the possibility will leave “non-food aid” provisions unaffected, the USAID said before allowing any additional USAID-funded commodities to be distributed in Ethiopia, “the country’s humanitarian architecture must undergo significant and immediate reforms.”

Stringent recommendations

This comes in the backdrop of the 2023 joint appeal published in March by Ethiopian government and humanitarian partners which sought for $US 3.99 billion to assist over 20 million people across the country with food assistance. An estimated 13 million of this are targeted for humanitarian response in drought affected areas alone.

Regardless of the needs however, the HRDG memo forwarded stringent recommendations to be implemented both by the donor community and the Ethiopian government. While the USAID called on other donors “to seize this opportunity to improve the humanitarian architecture in Ethiopia,” the humanitarian group itself recommended the Ethiopian government to implement a litany of measures, starting from “making public statement “condemning the humanitarian aid diversion and demanding that humanitarian staff throughout Ethiopia not be harassed in any way,” to identifying and dismantling the “organized structures orchestrating the diversion scheme(s).”

Indicating the scale of the diversion that covers the unnamed seven regional states, the group also asked the federal government “to work with regional and local authorities to identify any diverted donor-funded commodities that are currently being stored illegally in Ethiopia and facilitate the safe return of those commodities into the custody of implementing partners.”

Furthermore, in what shows to be a disruption in the periodic Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) reporting process, the recommendation called on the Ethiopian government top “define a timeline to reinstate the IPC process, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, and allow donors and their implementing partners to use IPC data and analysis to target food or alternative modalities of assistance only to the most vulnerable.”

Compounded by the ongoing drought affecting millions, and the suspension of food aid, a recent assessment and observation by Famine early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) covering the months between June to September 2023, has classified Tigray region to be “worse than previously assessed” and southern and southeastern areas of Oromia and Somali regions to continue to face risk of extreme outcomes of the ongoing drought. FEWS NET classified both cases as “Emergency (IPC Phase 4).”

WFP leadership resignation report and denial

It is in the midst of this crisis, which is described by a source close to the matter as “complete failure of the aid industry in Ethiopia,” that the news of the resignation of the senior leadership of the WFP in Ethiopia was reported by The New Humanitarian on Tuesday this week.

According to the exclusive report, the “WFP country director Claude Jibidar and his deputy, Jennifer Bitonde, tendered their resignations at an all-staff meeting on 2 June”. The New Humanitarian also said the resignation happened “shortly before the findings of a probe into the misappropriation of food aid in the country are due to be made public.”

WFP refuted the report and described it “inaccurate”; it insisted that “there has been no resignations by senior management in WFP Ethiopia”, but said the country director “is currently on leave and remains a WFP employee.”

According to the source who spoke with Addis Standard on conditions of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information, one of the “demands by the USAID” is to seen a “complete change in leadership at the WFP Ethiopia.”

Although, it did not indicate any change in the leadership, WFP admitted that it was “in the midst of rolling out comprehensive, systemic measures to prevent any further interference with lifesaving food assistance from reaching those who depend on it for their survival.”

Addis Standard’s requests for comments from Claire Nevill, WFP Ethiopia Head of Communications, Brenda Kariuki Senior Regional Communications Officer for Eastern Africa, as well as the WFP Global Media Team were unsuccessful. 

Martin Plaut posted: " On Monday the New Humanitarian broke the story of the resignation of the two most senior World Food Programme (WFP) staff in Ethiopia. The crux of the story was this: "WFP country director Claude Jibidar and his deputy, Jennifer Bitonde, tendered" Martin Plaut

On Monday the New Humanitarian broke the story of the resignation of the two most senior World Food Programme (WFP) staff in Ethiopia.

The crux of the story was this:

"WFP country director Claude Jibidar and his deputy, Jennifer Bitonde, tendered their resignations at an all-staff meeting on 2 June, sources present at Friday’s 'emotional' gathering told The New Humanitarian, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information. The move followed an internal investigation launched last month over reports that significant amounts of food meant for hungry people in Ethiopia’s war-affected northern Tigray region had been sold on the commercial market."

Why the resignations?

What I hear from a source in Ethiopia is that the USAID found aid on local markets, first in Tigray (Alamata) but later across Ethiopia, including Gambella and the Somali region. The majority of this diversion of aid was said to have taken place since the January ceasefire in Tigray.

The WFP tried to blame the beneficiaries or the NGO's they had been working with. Others suggested some was looted by Eritreans or by agencies working with local governments. These arguments were not regarded as credible, since there was evidence of aid being taken directly from government warehouses or sold by millers.

USAID demanded a halt and a full explanation. USAID administrator Samantha Power made the announcement in a statement on 3rd of May, explaining that the aid had been intended “for the people of Tigray suffering under famine-like conditions”. “We have made the difficult decision to pause all USAID-supported food assistance in the Tigray region until further notice,” Power said.

The Americans believed the Tigrayan authorities and Federal authorities were trying to defraud the US taxpayers. Investigations in Tigray and by the Federal government are now said to be close to being finalised.

Another source commented: "It’s a scale of aid diversion I have never seen before and it implicates the governments at regional and federal level. The Ethiopian and the Tigrayans military were caught on camera taking wheat from mills. Worse still, they had contracts signed by the mills. Although this was first detected in Tigray it implicates at least 8 regions."

"My friend a diplomat confirms the food aid corruption information. As of today, it seems an ‘open secret’ in diplomatic circles," a further source explained.

What does it amount to?

This must be among the most serious cases of aid diversion in many years and could lead to wholesale cuts in Ethiopian food aid, upon which many Ethiopians depend.

Everyone knows that some aid is sold on local markets by ordinary people, but this is on a quite different scale.

What has been uncovered goes way beyond this and amounts to officially sanctioned corruption. And with footage of troops taking food from warehouses and mills it could no longer be denied.

USAID knew if the true scale came out and they had not acted then they would be blamed and heads would roll.

Hence the dramatic decision to cut aid flows to Tigray, which has left the poorest of the poor without the assistance they so badly require.

As the WFP said on 3rd of May 2023:

The World Food Programme (WFP) is deeply concerned by the recent reports of significant diversion of humanitarian food assistance in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region. WFP takes this issue extremely seriously and will not tolerate any interference in its distribution of critical food aid to the most vulnerable women, men and children.

WFP immediately launched a comprehensive investigation upon learning of the food diversion reports and has taken swift action to establish all the facts and further strengthen our controls.

WFP has paused food distributions in Tigray, which will not resume until WFP can ensure that vital aid will reach its intended recipients.

WFP is working closely with the regional authorities to identify any individuals involved in these activities, and to close any loopholes in the process of identifying and registering beneficiaries.

WFP is also strongly reiterating to our cooperating partners that they monitor and report any illicit activities, and that they are enforcing the agreed controls. 

WFP prides itself on ensuring the proper use of donor contributions - with the most stringent controls and processes in order to best serve the millions of the hungry who depend on WFP’s lifesaving and life-changing assistance.

The people of Tigray are still recovering from the impacts of a two-year conflict, which has left 84 per cent of the region in a food crisis. WFP is resolutely committed to ensure life-saving food assistance reaches those most in need efficiently and effectively.

Word Food Programme Statement, 3 May 2023