Report: Aid agencies favor gas-guzzlers

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- A new report says aid agencies waste $200 million a year on sport utility vehicles at the expense of food, medicine and water for the world's poor.

“We can’t use a Toyota Prius to run around in southern Sudan but we do need to analyze more carefully the type of vehicles we are using,” said Rob McConnell, coordinator of Fleet Forum, whose members include more than 40 charities and United Nations agencies.

Smaller vehicles would substantially reduce carbon emissions and increase needed supplies for the poor in East African countries, where Toyota Land Cruisers, Nissan Patrols and Mitsubishi Pajeros frequently are seen bearing charity or United Nations logos, McConnell said.

Fleet Forum's members run 70,000 vehicles, half of which are gas-guzzling off-road SUVs which pump a million tons of carbon into the air each year, he said.