WCC News: WCC signs joint letter expressing concern over suspension of food aid in Ethiopia

The World Council of Churches (WCC) joined Caritas Internationalis, ACT Alliance, World Evangelical Alliance, and Lutheran World Federation in signing a joint letter to USAID administrator Samantha Power expressing concern over the suspension of food aid in Ethiopia.   27 January 2019, Burka Dare IDP site, near Micha, Seweyna woreda, Bale Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia: Halima Ismael is one of many Oromo internally displaced people living in the Burka Dare IDP site.  Photo: Albin Hillert/Life on Earth 14 July 2023 The letter conveys statements issued by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, by the Catholic Bishops’Conference of Ethiopia together with the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, and by the Ethiopian Catholic Eparchy of Adigrat regarding the suspension of food aid to Ethiopia by USAID and consequently also by the World Food Programme. "We join with our counterparts in Ethiopia in expressing profound appreciation for the essential humanitarian assistance provided to the people of Ethiopia by USAID and WFP, and in affirming the importance of ensuring that such aid reaches those who need it most and is not delayed, diverted, or misused,” reads the letter from the WCC and partners organizations. “The humanitarian community in Ethiopia, including local and international faith-based actors, share the commitment to stronger accountability measures and have already demonstrated the same through the adoption of measures including vulnerability-based targeting." The letter also affirms the concerns expressed by churches about the impact that the decision to suspend food aid is having and will have on millions of people in Ethiopia in such a gravely conflict-affected and drought-threatened context.  “In recent weeks, the humanitarian situation in the country has sharply deteriorated and will continue to deteriorate if urgent action is not taken,” reads the letter. “The concerns that have been identified regarding misuse of food aid are serious and warrant thorough investigation and correction.” Read the joint letter to USAID on the suspension of food aid in Ethiopia See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland