Samoa Red Cross Secretary General Ms Tautala Mauala and Logistics Officer Iese Wilson outside a Red Cross container in Apia, Samoa
“Heavy winter clothing arrived. We don’t have winter here! These things just aren’t needed.”
The issue is a longstanding phenomenon in the humanitarian world: after a disaster containers of unsolicited bilateral donations (UBDs) arrive spontaneously, well-meaning but not well-planned, and often filled with unneeded or non... READ MORE
Active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for almost ten years, the Logistics Cluster team is composed of 10 people based in five cities. At the core of its strategy is training local and international staff on a wide range of logistics topics, but why is training such an important aspect of their job?
Geographically, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is by far the largest Logistics Cluster operation. The road leading from Kinshasa to the eastern city of Goma, next to the border with Rwanda, extends for more than 2,700 km. Bunia, a city next to Lake Albert and the border with Uganda, lies 2,000 km northeast of Kananga, the fourth largest city... READ MORE
In 2007, tropical cyclone Indlala hit the northeast of the country causing severe flooding and heavy damage to infrastructure both on the coast and inland. It was then that Christian Razafimahatratra joined WFP as Logistics Associate. Since then, he has been serving in the Country Office in Antananarivo and worked in ten cyclone responses and in the most recent El Niño drought of 2016.
We spoke with Christian about his work, about the unique challenges humanitarian logisticians face in Madagascar and about the importance of preparedness to mitigate the impact of severe weather on the people of Madagascar.
It’s 9:00 am in the Logistics Cluster office in Juba, South Sudan. The team there have their heads together with colleagues from WFP Logistics, Nutrition, Emergency Unit and UNHAS, planning the destinations and routings for thirty WFP cargo flights that will cross the country tomorrow.
Equipped with a cup of coffee and her trusty airfield map, our colleague Jessie is putting the final touches on the Logistics Cluster flight plans. She is the Logistics Officer responsible for air and barge operations for the Logistics Cluster in South Sudan. Today she will walk us through her work and how she got here.
Jessie, can you tell us what you were doing just now? ... READ MORE
Greater Ulang County, South Sudan - local chiefs and the Deputy Commissioner of the area came together and joined efforts with Relief International with one aim: to renovate the only airstrip.
Located in Greater Upper Nile in the northeast of the country, the area is highly remote and up until now, access has been difficult. The only way to reach Ulang was to come on small boats, or to fly in by helicopter: either costly or inefficient options. This became especially inadequate given the increase in humanitarian needs, as large numbers of people are fleeing to this area.
So it is that 46 people, day after day and under... READ MORE