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This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
USAID Pledges More Food Aid for Uganda
Official reviews security, humanitarian situation with Ugandan leaders
Washington File
17 February 2003
The United States remains concerned about the security and humanitarian situation in Uganda, and has pledged additional food aid to help meet the needs of people in the northern part of the country, according to Roger Winter, USAID Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance.
Winter announced an additional contribution of 25,000 metric tons of food, which would be in addition to 20,000 tons pledged in December 2002. These shipments amount to 42 percent of the estimated food needs for the affected populations for the first six months of 2003, according to USAID.
Winter recently ended a three-day trip to Uganda during which he met with a number of government officials, including President Yoweri Museveni and Prime Minister Apollo Nsimbabi in Kampala.
Returned Lord's Resistance Army abductees receiving psychosocial counseling at a center funded in part by USAID, show their appreciation through dance and musicHe traveled to Gulu in northern Uganda to visit the Lacor hospital for displaced persons, and the GUSCO Reception Center, which houses children who have been freed or escaped after being abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army.
In the meetings with President Museveni and Prime Minister Nsimbabi, Winter also discussed the $15 billion emergency plan for AIDS relief announced by President Bush in his State of the Union address two weeks ago.
Following is the text of a February 13 USAID press release on the visit to Uganda of Assistant Administrator Roger Winter:
U.S. Agency for International Development
Press Release
February 13, 2003
USAID Assistant Administrator Reviews Food, Security Situation in Uganda
Pledges Additional Food Aid; Meets with President, Prime Minister
KAMPALA, UGANDA -- Roger Winter, USAID Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA) ended a three-day visit to Uganda with meetings with President Yoweri Museveni and Prime Minister Apollo Nsimbabi in Kampala yesterday.
His visit, to assess the humanitarian and security situation in the country, included meetings with various government officials and representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Kampala and a trip to Gulu in northern Uganda to review the ongoing humanitarian crisis there. During his trip to Gulu on February 11th, Winter visited the Lacor hospital, a camp for internally displaced persons and the GUSCO Reception Center. This center houses children who have been freed or escaped after being abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).
In his meetings with President Museveni and Prime Minister Nsibambi on Wednesday, Winter emphasized U.S. concerns about the continuing crisis in the north resulting from the ongoing terror campaign by the LRA. He also stressed the need for increased humanitarian access to the north and praised the government of Uganda for the support it has already provided for these activities. The two parties also discussed the $15 billion emergency plan for AIDS relief announced by President Bush in his State of the Union address two weeks ago.
While in Uganda Winter also announced that USAID would contribute another 25,000 metric tons of food aid to help meet the needs in the north of the country, in addition to the 20,000 metric tons already pledged in December 2002. This amounts to 42 percent of the total amount of food needed by affected populations in the north of the country for the first six months of 2003, as estimated by the World Food Program (WFP).
"President Bush and the U.S. government are concerned about the food and security situation in the country, and this new food pledge is intended to help address that concern," said Winter after his meeting with President Museveni. "The goal of my visit is to underline the U.S. commitment to helping Uganda meets its needs and focus attention on the situation in the north of the country."
Following his trip to Uganda Winter continued on to Kenya, after which he will join U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. agencies for Food and Agriculture Tony Hall and U.S. Senator Bill Nelson in Ethiopia from February 16th to 19th. He will conclude his trip to Africa with a series of meetings in Sudan.
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
For more information on USAID's humanitarian assistance programs, please visit www.usaid.gov/hum_response/ofda/
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Last Updated on: December 30, 2008 |
