The Reuters investigation dated October 18 found that the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) failed to take action when more than 7,000 tonnes of wheat was stolen in Ethiopia.
Officials at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) launched the investigation last year after learning that their donated food was diverted to commercial mills and markets across Ethiopia. The WFP claimed to have no tolerance for the theft, but the agency knew about food looting in Ethiopia years before USAID discovered the crime, as Reuters found out.
The amount of wheat stolen was enough to feed more than 450,000 people for a month, according to officials, but so far the investigation has not revealed many details and no suspects have yet been identified, despite it being one of the largest thefts and thefts of food aid ever recorded.
The WFP admits large quantities of food were diverted to markets and mills, but says the agency itself is not responsible and blames part of the blame on aid recipients who sold their rations. Some officials suggest the Ethiopian and Tigrayan military diverted food, but they deny the allegations and say aid recipients often contributed to what they dubbed their civilian army.
