WFP won't tolerate stolen food aid
2011-08-18 15:49
Rome - The World Food Programme says it has "zero tolerance" for any case in which food aid fails to reach the needy, amid reports that shipments of food have been stolen in famine-hit Somalia.
The UN agency's deputy executive director, Sheila Sisulu, said on Thursday that "when we hear of food gone astray we immediately investigate".
She spoke at a conference by the Food and Agriculture Organisation on the crisis in East Africa.
WFP said it brings 5 000 tons of food a month into the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
An investigation by The Associated Press found that sacks of grain and other food staples meant for starving Somalis are being stolen and sold in Somali markets, raising concerns that the unscrupulous are stealing from international famine relief efforts.
- AP