US announces resumption of food aid to refugees in Ethiopia

American authorities have announced the resumption of the delivery of food aid to refugees in Ethiopia, after a five-month interruption.

This comes after the authorities in Addis Ababa agreed to step away from distributing the supplies.

Washington suspended aid in May – following a similar move by the UN – saying it had found “widespread and coordinated” theft of food aid.

“Reforms made by the Ethiopian government that led to the resumption of the aid include strengthening monitoring and oversight as well as increasing commodity tracking,” a statement by USAid has said.

Additionally Ethiopia has “transferred responsibility” for dispatching and warehousing of food aid, It added.

Hundreds of thousands of refugees currently residing in Ethiopia – mostly from neighbouring countries like Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea – will benefit from the resumption of aid, the BBC reported.