EU suspends Somalia food aid after UN inquiry finds theft, misuse

baidoa

Internally displaced Somali women with their children at the feeding centre in Barwaaqo near Baidoa, Somalia on February 21, 2023. PHOTO | REUTERS

The European Union (EU) executive has temporarily suspended funding for the World Food Programme (WFP) in Somalia, two senior EU officials told Reuters on Monday, after a UN investigation found widespread theft and misuse of aid meant to avert famine.

The European Commission gave more than $7 million in aid to the WFP's operations in Somalia last year, a fraction of the donations of more than $1 billion it received, UN data shows.