Devex Dish: Ethiopia’s food theft runs deep

We’ve been following the disaster that is the pause of food aid in Ethiopia ever since the World Food Programme and USAID abruptly announced they’d cease providing lifesaving rations to people in the country earlier this year. That came after they discovered widespread “diversion” — aka theft — of food supplies, which were found being sold on the commercial market, instead of reaching the people they were meant for. You’ll remember that WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain told me in July that the agency discovered the theft too late and should have ceased operations in the country much sooner. Now, my colleague Colum Lynch along with Devex contributor Elissa Miolene provide us the 50,000-foot view of the situation, with vital context about the complexities of aid distribution in Ethiopia. They found that the U.S. government’s knowledge of humanitarian aid theft in the country goes back to at least 1985. A quick refresh of the current situation: Earlier this year, WFP and USAID found more than 7,000 metric tons of stolen wheat and 215,000 liters of food oil in commercial markets in Tigray. By June, USAID had visited refugee camps, village markets, and 63 flour mills throughout Ethiopia, finding various levels of theft at each location, a USAID spokesperson says. The root of the problem lies in the strategic importance of Ethiopia, and therefore both Western governments’ and U.N. agencies’ willingness to go along with stringent aid regulations that often put Ethiopian officials themselves in charge of targeting and distribution of supplies. “It’s like that corollary of the frog in water,” says David Del Conte, who served as the deputy country director for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Ethiopia from 2012 to 2016. “By the time we realize, we’re fully cooked. We know what mistakes we have made, and there’s nothing we can do about it.” Exclusive: 'Rot is so much deeper' — decades of Ethiopia aid manipulation ICYMI: McCain vows Ethiopia food theft won't happen again A mouthful “While the stifling Mediterranean heat wave enveloping Rome magnified the urgency around climate inaction … the stocktaking fell woefully short on delivering concrete action.” --— Ertharin Cousin, former executive director, World Food Programme, and Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, profession of nutrition, Tufts University Cousin and Mozaffarian write in an op-ed for Devex about how we are failing to appropriately address the emergency around food systems, and must seize the moment when it comes to the climate crisis. They stress that there is no “one-size-fits-all solution,” but that sustainable transformation requires a diversity of solutions for geographic contexts, time frames, scales, and more. This picture “must acknowledge the harmonies and trade-offs that exist between climate, human health, and equity and prosperity goals,” they write. The private sector is a key piece of the puzzle, they say, calling for a campaign to “aggressively” work with the private sector to spur radical change. Private financing is woefully inadequate, the authors write, and to fix the problem there must be collaborative funding models available where they can partner with a wide array of partners, including the public sector. Doing so will help de-risk the investments, they add. Opinion: Food systems harm people and planet. Here is how we fix that African solutions for Africa As the Africa Food Systems Forum, or AGRF, convenes in Tanzania this week, the U.N. Foundation is out with a new report produced by 15 African “researchers and innovators” on how to grow investment in agricultural research and innovation on the continent. The report finds that underfunding agricultural innovation is standing in the way of climate adaptation, even as just 1% of all adaptation financing for Africa is currently being spent on agricultural research. The continent accounts for less than 1% of global gross domestic R&D spending. The report has three main findings: Capacity first: Local capacity for research on African agricultural and climate challenges must be strengthened, so scientists have access to the latest technologies. Collaboration in context: African researchers also need better connections to agricultural research happening elsewhere, both public and private, to encourage better regional level coordination. Continuity across investments: There must be “smoother transitions” as innovations develop and require new funding sources, while de-risking can better bridge the public-private divide to ensure adequate funds are flowing toward climate-resilient innovation. From the archives: How can Africa's agriculture SMEs get more funding, policy support? (Pro) Related reading: New fund aims to unlock private investment for adaptation, agriculture (Pro) + Not a Devex Pro member yet? Start your 15-day free trial today to unlock all our exclusive reporting and analysis. Number munching $9 --— That’s the return on every $1 spent on school meals in Latin America and the Caribbean, which now ranks second in the world in terms of school meals beneficiaries, helping improve school attendance and learning. That’s according to a new study from the Inter-American Development Bank and WFP presented last week, which shows that these programs reach 80.3 million children in 31 countries. The report also highlights school meals’ positive impact on health and nutrition. That said, The State of School Feeding in Latin America and the Caribbean 2022 report shows that there are still discrepancies in the scope, relevance, and quality of programs between and within countries. In low-income countries, for instance, school feeding costs as little as $10 per year per child, compared to an estimated $293 in high-income countries. Could school feeding be a tool for human development and building more inclusive societies as the study suggests? Email me with your thoughts: dish@devex.com. ICYMI: School meals are 'low hanging fruit' for food systems transformation Chew on this An unusually dry August has affected cereal and oilseed crops in Asia as El Niño intensified, while lower rainfall forecasts in September are threatening to further disrupt supplies. [Reuters] USAID announced $15 million which will go toward targeted support to women, smallholder farmers, and small- and medium-sized businesses in food systems in Africa. [USAID] FAO seeks $36.9 million for its El Niño Anticipatory Action and Response plan, to help 1.16 million people in nine Latin American countries that are likely to be affected by El Niño. [Relief Web]