WFP Adopts a Modified Operations Strategy to Relaunch Food Distribution in Ethiopia

By Xinhua 

November 17, 2023

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) announced Thursday it has activated its revamped approach to operations in Ethiopia in a major step to restart food assistance to around 3.2 million people in the country.

The WFP stated in a press release that it has launched a new operating model to restart food distribution suspended in June to millions of vulnerable Ethiopians.

“WFP’s new approach is underpinned by a robust set of safeguards and controls that have been extensively tested,” read the press release.

The WFP also disclosed the new approaches include using clear criteria to identify and digitally register the most vulnerable households and people and working with local communities to verify those in greatest need.

It also plans to reinforce commodity tracking to follow food movements from warehouses to beneficiaries as well as increased monitoring and community feedback and reporting mechanisms that will unearth potential misuse of food aid.

In June, the UN agency announced its decision to suspend its food aid assistance program in Ethiopia, citing large-scale aid misappropriation.

The WFP statement didn’t specifically mention the name of the entities it said had diverted its food aid in the East African country.