On 31 July, the Logistics Sector organised the second training in warehouse management. Following the high interest in the event in April, the partners requested to repeat the training in order to further enhance the capacity of their local staff. Femi Olaniyi from WHO and Ade Akobi from WFP agreed to facilitate the training again; this time for 26 participants, as compared to 24 participants in April.

The participants had a chance to get a hands-on experience during the practical exercise.

The participants were given a tour around the Inter-Agency Logistics Base in Maiduguri managed by Première Urgence International (PUI); the storage is made available to the humanitarian community through the Logistics Sector.

The participants were also given a series of lectures on how to effectively manage a warehouse: from choosing the right location, through ensuring health and safety, to focusing on specifics like temperature-controlled, inventory management, optimal cargo stacking and cold chain warehousing. The participants had a chance to get a hands-on experience during the practical exercise which was held at the Inter-Agency Logistics Base in Maiduguri managed by Première Urgence International (PUI) on behalf of the Logistics Sector.

‘’The art of stacking is not about how beautiful a stack looks like but whether it allows you to perform an inventory in a timely and reliable manner’’, said the facilitator from WHO, Femi, who has more than 10 years of experience in warehousing.

Based on the feedback from the participants and the training needs indicated by humanitarian organisations, the Logistics Sector will consider organising similar events in future.

One of the participants said: ‘The training was very good and the trainers were really encouraging. More trainings should be organised in order to ensure quality in warehouse management during response operations.’’ To date, the Logistics Sector Nigeria organised two trainings in warehouse management for 50 participants.