The subject being discussed in this piece is a disgrace ... described as a collective failure of the international aid community, but it is bigger than this. There are serious failures at the highest levels of governments and the corporate world and the capitalist market economic system. I have worked in the region several times going back to the famine in the 1980s ... and the international community as well as local leadership must share the bleme associated with millions now starving.

The UN is investigating the possible theft of food supplies meant for Somalia's famine victims.

The UN World Food Programme is investigating the possible theft of food supplies meant for Somalia's famine victims. But it has denied reports that half of all its aid is being stolen and sold on the black market.

More than 3.2 million Somalis - almost half the population - need food aid, after a severe drought engulfed the country. This comes against the backdrop of the country's long running civil war.

So what affect does food aid theft have on humanitarian work in Somalia and how can aid agencies tackle corruption?

Inside Story, with presenter Dareen Abughaida, discusses with guests: Dr. Abdiqani Sheikh Omar, the executive director of the Somali Young Doctors Association; Joakim Gundel, the director of Katuni Consult, a consultancy focusing on humanitarian, operational and political issues in Somalia; and Jamal Osman, a Somali journalist.

Source: Al Jazeera