The European Union has temporarily suspended funding for the World Food Programme (WFP) in Somalia, after a U.N. investigation found widespread theft and misuse of food assistance meant to avert famine.
Last year, WFP’s operations in Somalia last year, the European Commission donated over $7 million in aid to the WFP – a fraction of the donations of more than $1 billion it received, according to U.N. data.
Although EU member states offered much more money on a bilateral basis, there is no evidence on if they would also suspend aid.
Balazs Ujvari, a spokesman for the European Commission, neither confirmed nor denied specifically a temporary suspension but said: “So far, the EU has not been informed by its U.N. partners of a financial impact on EU-funded projects.
“Nevertheless, we will continue to monitor the situation and abide by our zero-tolerance approach to fraud, corruption or misconduct.”
A 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.
The July 7 report, marked “strictly confidential,” was commissioned by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Its contents were first published on Monday by Devex, a media outlet focused on international development.
It cited internally displaced persons (IDPs) as saying they were coerced into paying up to half of the cash assistance they received to people in positions of power in the face of threats of eviction, arrest or de-registration from beneficiary lists.
In July, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and WFP put off food aid to neighbouring Ethiopia due to widespread diversion of donations.
Although famine has been prevented fat the moment, the report warned that inadequate humanitarian assistance could imperil fragile progress made.
The U.N says it requires $2.6 billion funded for Somalia’s 2023 humanitarian response, it has only received 36% of the funds.
