On 15 December 2013 intense fighting broke out across South Sudan and the humanitarian situation rapidly rose to ‘Level 3’ emergency status. This latest resuscitation of civil war has left a reported 744,000 people displaced and in need of humanitarian assistance.
South Sudan is a complex and challenging country to operate within. The world’s newest country, with a geographical area roughly the same size as France, South Sudan has a fundamental lack of logistics infrastructure that presents constant challenges to humanitarian operations. The six-month rainy season further exacerbates the humanitarian community’s ability to reach those in need; with the majority of roads washed out, key locations are rendered inaccessible. The recent conflict has added an extra dimension to the logistical challenges as currently security constraints further impede the humanitarian community’s ability to access Unity and Upper Nile States.
The Logistics Cluster; to facilitate humanitarian access to hotspot locations, has been scaling-up its response operations. The Logistics Cluster is facilitating the transport of relief items via helicopter and fixed wing aircraft to critical locations throughout South Sudan including Bentiu, Bor, Malakal, Minkaman, Maban and Leer. Since the beginning of 2014, the Logistics Cluster has facilitated the transport of over 240mt / 1200m3 of relief items on behalf of 13 organisations via 60 flights. As life-saving cargo (i.e. WASH supplies for direct distribution) continues to be prioritised, these airlifts are providing an essential service to the humanitarian community.
In order to improve the efficiency and speed of these air operations, the Logistics Cluster erected a Mobile Storage Unit (MSU) in inside the UNMISS Compound, Juba Tomping. This MSU, of 240m2 capacity, is acting as a cargo transit hub for airlift operations providing space for cargo consolidation prior to onward movement out of Juba Airport. The Logistics Cluster oversees this shunting service providing transportation of cargo to and from the warehouse to the airport and ensures that the cargo is properly loaded onto the aircraft and received at the final destination. Filling a vital logistics gap, the Logistics Cluster is assisting organisations whose cargo would not have otherwise been able to overcome security restrictions in accessing the apron at Juba Airport.
In addition to the common storage facilities the Logistics Cluster has set up in deep field locations, it has also been focusing on supporting the humanitarian community in their response operations assisting the large number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) residing in Juba. Next to the IDP camp within the UNMISS compound, Juba Tomping, the Logistics Cluster set-up two additional MSUs amounting to a total of 480m2 capacity which are dedicated to supporting those organisations responding to the 20,000 IDPs residing there. Organisations can now store their cargo, such as WASH, health and education items, in an easily accessible warehouse in close proximity to the Protection of Civilian (PoC) area, ensuring timely and efficient distribution to those in need.
For an overview of Logistics Cluster Operations in South Sudan in January 2014, please refer to: http://logcluster.org/document/operations-overview-09-31-january-2014
For more on free-to-user services currently offered by the Logistics Cluster in South Sudan, please refer to: http://logcluster.org/document/free-user-services-overview-31-january-2014
