Corruption Captures Half of Somalia Food Aid

GlobalFutures| A new UN Security Council reports investigated food aid sent into Somalia, concluding that as much as half the food aid which serves about 2.5 million people and was worth $485 million in 2009 was diverted into a corrupt system of contractors, radical Islamist militants and local UN staff members.

The report shown to the NYTimes recomments that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon open an independent investigation into the World Food Program’s Somalia operations.

The investigation further alleges that authorities collaborate with pirates hijacking ships aalong the lawless coast and that Somali government ministers have auctioned off diplomatic visas to the highest bidders. Read on Food Aid Bypasses Somalia’s Needy, UN Study Finds via NYTimes