The blame for Angola’s food shortages can be squarely placed on the country’s government. Luanda decided last month to ban the import of genetically modified food, following in the footsteps of four Southern African nations. That decision had the effect of blocking the shipment of 19,000 tons of corn from the United States. Under the government’s ban, genetically modified grain may be imported only if it has been milled first, which would prevent the material from germinating in the soil. The government, though, provided no lead time to allow for milling. As a result of this and other factors, the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) starting Thursday had to cut its rations to 1.9 million Angolans by 50 percent.
The government’s decision to ban genetically modified food compounds a global reticence to aid the Angolan government, due to disappearing oil revenue. Human Rights Watch said in January that from 1997 to 2002 alone, $4.2 billion in oil money — one-fourth of the total — was unaccounted for. Due to falling funds, the WFP was already planning to cut food handouts by 30 percent.
Almost half of Angola’s children suffer from malnutrition. Angola’s chronic food shortages, though, frame part of an underlying concern — how can developed nations best aid poor ones without creating dependency or other problems? This question is particularly relevant to Angola, given the widespread corruption and extensive oil reserves. U.S. officials are aware that food aid is a humanitarian remedy that has its own consequences. It is not a development tool.
Dealing with a regime that needlessly denies people the food aid they depend on is clearly a challenge for the United States and other countries. For now, the most coherent response would appear to be using aid as leverage to induce the government to change its behavior. In the absence of that, the focus should be on providing humanitarian assistance to the Angolan people.
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