WFP AND NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS

Governments are WFP's principal partners. The Agency consults with national and local authorities at every stage of the planning process.

The Programme may provide the food aid itself and, in some cases, the technical and logistical expertise, but its projects always require the full support and involvement of individual governments. Ultimately, it is the national government who must request WFP's intervention in emergencies or development projects, so the Programme's work must fit into the national picture.

In most cases, however, governments will consult WFP country offices before drawing up disaster prevention plans or making a request for development aid.

For its part, WFP takes measures to insure that once its own contribution to a project is phased out, the national government will make every effort to pursue the project's objectives.

Only in exceptional circumstances, such as a complex crisis when the national authorities may have lost control of their territory, can WFP provide assistance without an invitation from the government - and only then at the special request of the United Nations Secretary General.

Links to Governments partnering WFP:  

• DFID- the UK Government's department for international development works to promote sustainable development and eliminate world poverty  
   
• ECHO - the European Union's Humanitarian Aid Office is one of the biggest sources of humanitarian aid in the world, providing more than €221.4 million in 2006. ECHO’s funding, taken together with the aid allocated by EU Member States separately, makes the European Union the largest donor of aid in the world. Since it was set up in 1992, ECHO has supported projects in more than 100 countries. The funds are spent on goods and services such as food, clothing, shelter, medical provisions, water supply systems, sanitation, emergency repairs and mine clearing. ECHO also funds disaster preparedness and mitigation projects in regions prone to natural catastrophes. ECHO works with around 180 operational partners, mainly organisations that have signed a framework partnership agreement with the Commission. Its partners include specialist UN agencies like WFP, the Red Cross and non-governmental organisations.  
   
• EUROPEAID - EuropeAid's mission is to implement the external aid instruments of the European Commission which are funded by the EC budget and the European Development Fund. The Office is responsible for all phases of the project cycle which ensures the achievement of the objectives of the programmes established by the Directorates-General for External Relations and Development and approved by the Commission. 
   

• USAID - the United States agency for international development provides economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 100 countries.