§ Mr. Boris JohnsonTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the efficacy of his Department's contract with the World Food Programme to distribute food to Teso in North East Uganda. [166760]
§ Hilary BennThe Department for International Development has a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nation's World Food Programme in Uganda. The current MoU has been in place since December 2002. It clearly sets out the UK's expectations in relation to our bilateral financing, and gives the World Food Programme (WFP) obligations to fulfil.
The WFP has the full capacity required to provide food relief in the North and East of Uganda effectively. WFP is the UN agency mandated to provide food aid in such a large-scale emergency, and the only agency on the ground equipped with the necessary staff, resources and experience necessary to respond adequately to the situation. DFID closely monitors the WFP's performance through the reports it submits directly to DFID, the monthly Humanitarian Updates it provides to the donor community as a whole, and regular discussions with WFP representatives in Kampala.