UN: Food Aid Diverted to Wrong Hands in Somalia

A new United Nations Security Council report claims that as much as half the food aid sent to Somalia is ending up in the hands of corrupt contractors, militants, and local UN staff members. The report is not yet public but was shown to the New York Times (read the article). The report recommends that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon launch an independent investigation of the World Food Programme operations in Somalia and rebuild the food distribution system there.

Although the Security Council report isn't yet available for viewing, we can point you in the direction of other online publications about humanitarian aid in Somalia:

• UK Department for International Development, UK Announces Additional Aid for Somalia (March 10, 2010)
• Council on Foreign Relations Center for Preventive Action, Somalia: A New Approach (March 2010)
• UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Somalia: Weekly Humanitarian Bulletin, no. 9 (February 26-March 5, 2010)
• World Food Programme, WFP Facing Growing Humanitarian Challenge in Somalia (Jan. 5, 2010)

To find other resources on Somalia, see our country guide.