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Leading aid agencies refute claims that large amounts of aid to Ethiopia in 1984-5 were misused

Statement from Oxfam, Christian Aid and CAFOD, 17 March 2010

Aid money sent to Ethiopia in the mid eighties saved hundreds of thousands of lives. The British public should feel justifiably proud of the very generous contribution they made to this.

Assertions made by a TPLF former commander in a recent BBC investigation that the majority of aid money to Tigray in 1985 was used for arms or political purposes are incorrect. When Ethiopia was struck by one of the worst famines in history amid heavy conflict twenty-five years ago, agencies including Oxfam, Christian Aid, CAFOD and others sought to save the lives of distressed and starving people under difficult circumstances.

We are confident that aid got to millions of people who needed it. It would be wrong to claim that no money was ever diverted in such a situation of active conflict.  However, the uncorroborated allegation, made by a former rebel leader in the BBC report, that 95 percent of $100 million aid for famine victims in Tigray in 1985 was misused is grossly inflated. There is no credible evidence that this figure – or any figure remotely close to it – is accurate.

We welcome public scrutiny of aid distribution and media investigations including those by the BBC.  The public can and should always demand that aid reaches the people who need it, that responses are faster and more coordinated and ultimately that the international community put maximum effort into preventing such emergencies from happening in the first place.  In 1984-5 and today, we are fully dedicated to uphold these standards in our mission to end poverty worldwide

Oxfam’s activities in Ethiopia in 1984-1985
In 1984/5, Oxfam itself spent over £5.6 million on aid for Tigray, which was then controlled by rebels, as well as more than £10.3 million in government-controlled Ethiopia. Oxfam’s monitoring system at that time consisted of spot checks on aid distributions made by REST (the humanitarian arm of the then rebel group in Tigray), interviews with people who had fled the region and had little sympathy for REST political affiliations, and more than a dozen major assessments of  the rebel areas in Ethiopia. Oxfam took all these steps to minimize the possibility of aid relief being abused for military or political purposes. Most aid was given as food, seeds and tools, rather than cash, which also reduced the risks of abuse.  Oxfam’s monitoring teams found no systematic or wide scale diversion of aid but it would be impossible to say that no aid was misused in such difficult circumstances.
The humanitarian aid sector continues to improve its standards and accountability. When Oxfam operates in war zones and conflict areas to help people in great need, we insist on stringent monitoring and evaluation of all our work to ensure that we make the best possible use of money given to us. We constantly work to improve our effectiveness. Large scale aid projects are subject to an independent review to ensure value for money and to learn lessons that will improve our future programmes. Our monitoring and evaluation policy and results of our reviews are in the public domain (www.oxfam.org.uk/resources/evaluations/)
 
There is more to be done in Ethiopia to overcome the underlying causes of suffering and hunger but progress has been made. As in every country in the world, aid agencies should always be vigilant to ensure that all their aid is used effectively to reduce poverty and meet urgent humanitarian needs. In the recent Global Hunger Index of all developing countries, Ethiopia was shown to be in the top five performers in alleviating hunger since 1990 in absolute terms. The proportion of children completing primary school has more than doubled since 2000. There are many challenges, but, supported by the generosity of the British public, things are improving and they will continue to do so?” 

For more information please contact

Tricia O’Rourke
[email protected] / +44 (0)1865 472498 / +44 (0)7920 596358

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