The World Food Program (WFP) has established hotlines dedicated for the complaints of aid beneficiaries in Sanaa, Yemen.
According to Yemenis, who were contacted by Asharq Al-Awsat, the move helps the WFP stem the looting of humanitarian aid.
This measure comes after multiple accusations were directed against Houthis and their militia leaders of seizing aid and reselling a portion of it while distributing the other portion to loyalists to invest in their war effort.
Yemenis in Sanaa said that over the last two days they have been receiving calls from WFP workers asking them about the last time they had obtained food aid and about the inhibitions and reasons they have not been receiving assistance in the last period.
Some Yemenis confirmed they had not received any aid in nine months.
WFP beneficiaries appreciated the move to establish the hotlines to investigate the fate of aid that is not being delivered to those in need.
“This step is on the right track and will expose the games, corruption and tampering the militias commit to loot and steal aid and then prepare fake statements and data,” some Yemenis in Sanaa said.
The WFP sent beneficiaries an SMS with the numbers of the hotlines established for complaints and suggestions. In the SMS, the organization urged Yemenis to report any imbalances and abuses on behalf of the Houthis where it concerns UN-sent aid.
Local observers assert that the WFP, through its current direct contact with the beneficiaries, seeks to uncover any crimes that the militias may re-commit after previous scandals of their tampering with recent food aid sent to Yemenis.
Previously, the WFP had directed a number of accusations to Houthis about stealing and plundering aid trucks.
The WFP said it had proof about how militias stole aid trucks. In one of its statements, the WFP accused Houthis of stealing food from the mouths of the poor.
