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Somalia Piracy Hampers Food Aid: UN
Danger of hijacking has raised costs dramatically, WFP official says
By Nick McMaster
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Posted Apr 9, 09 2:22 PM CDT
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(Newser)
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Piracy off the coast of Somalia is making relief organizations' work even more difficult, Reuters reports. The UN’s World Food Program today decried both the hijacking of ships bearing aid supplies—the Maersk Alabama, for example, had 232 WFP containers on board when it was seized this week—and indirect costs, like higher insurance rates and the growing unwillingness of some shipping companies to make the trip.
As a result, it now costs millions of dollars more than it did last year to feed the same number of people, said a WFP rep. "If we have piracy off Somalia making it difficult to deliver food, we will have to cut rations and people will miss distributions and people will go hungry," he warned.