Ethiopian debt repayment

In Dec 2002, Nestlé demanded repayment of a US$6 million debt from the state of Ethiopia, as the country was facing its worst famine in nearly 20 years.¹ This debt was compensation for a company nationalised by a previous military government in 1975, 27 years prior; the firm had been bought by Nestlé in 1986.

According to Oxfam, that money could feed a million people for a month. In context, just one month prior, the then-prime minister of Ethiopia Meles Zenawi had said that 6 million people needed emergency food aid with a possibility of that number rising to 15 million within months.

Nestlé initially rejected a settlement offer by the Ethiopian government of US$1.5 million - all they could afford. They eventually had to back down after a wave of public outrage where more than 8,500 people complained to the company via email.²

References

1. https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/dec/19/marketingandpr.famine. The Guardian. 19 Dec 2022. Archived from the original 26 Aug 2013. Retrieved 2 Nov 2024.
2. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/dec/20/marketingandpr.debtrelief The Guardian. 20 Dec 2022. Archived from the original 26 Aug 2013. Retrieved 2 Nov 2024.