Up To 50% Of Somali Food Aid Is Diverted

[By Edith M. Lederer, Associated Press | Wednesday, 10 March, 2010.]
Up to half the food aid intended for the millions of hungry people in Somalia is being diverted to corrupt contractors, radical Islamic militants and local U.N. workers, according to a U.N. Security Council report.

The report blames the problem on improper food distribution in the Horn of Africa nation, which has been plagued by fighting and humanitarian suffering for nearly two decades, according to a U.N. diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity because the report has not yet been released.

Transporters in Somalia must truck bags of food through roadblocks manned by a bewildering array of militias, insurgents and bandits. Kidnappings and executions are common and the insecurity makes it difficult for senior U.N. officials to travel to the country to check on procedures. Investigators could end up relying on the same people they are probing to provide protection.

The U.N. diplomat told The Associated Press that "a significant diversion" of food delivered by the U.N. food program is being diverted to cartels who were selling it illegally. The findings of the report were first reported by The New York Times on Tuesday Some 3.7 million people in Somalia - nearly half of the population - need aid. (Full story here.)