Summary
Concept of Operations for Nigeria Logistics Sector which aims to address the logistics gaps and bottlenecks identified in the Gaps and Needs Analysis exercise and discussed with the Sector partners, through the implementation of the listed activities.
Content
Background
Sixteen years of armed conflict, devastating flooding, disease outbreaks, the lack of access to basic services and poverty are making millions of Nigerians profoundly vulnerable. Severe food insecurity and malnutrition are endemic. In Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) states, some 5.9 million people will be challenged by severe to extreme needs (severity level 3, 4 and 5), with the most critical priority are those experiencing catastrophic and life-threatening needs, who must be targeted first for immediate, life-saving intervention, out of a total of an estimated 7.3 million people who will require some form of assistance (Nigeria HNRP, January 2026).
The context in northeast of Nigeria is characterized by a volatile security situation stemming from the continued conflict with armed groups that has layered on existing infrastructural gaps and access restrictions to drive a protracted humanitarian crisis. Majority of the people in need of assistance are in hard-to-reach areas where the infrastructure required to support the humanitarian assistance is either limited or absent all together. Access to most of the communities is expected to remain a significant challenge for the efficient delivery of lifesaving humanitarian assistance. Logistics Sector’s support therefore remains critical for the humanitarian operations in the region.
Since its activation in 2016, the Logistics Sector has been working to improve the overall logistics response through coordination and collaboration with its community of partners to overcome common challenges, information sharing and facilitation of common services. The Logistics Sector is mandated for operation in the states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY States), however, most of the attention is focused on operations in Borno, where the operating environment remains extremely volatile, and the needs are generally as severe and large-scale as ever.
Logistics Gaps and Bottlenecks
Objectives
Based on the needs identified by the humanitarian community through the Gaps and Needs Analysis (GNA) conducted in 2024 and updated in 2025, the Logistics Sector aims to facilitate access to sufficient and reliable logistics services and consolidated information on available logistics resources, to enhance the capacity of the humanitarian community to deliver relief items to hard-to-reach locations. All activities are intended to ensure the timely and uninterrupted supply of vital items to affected populations.
This Concept of Operations aims to address the logistics gaps and bottlenecks identified in the Gaps and Needs Analysis exercise and discussed with the Sector partners, through the implementation of the following activities:
- Coordinated Planning: The Logistics Sector aims to ensure coordination, consolidation and sharing of relevant logistics information to promote continuity in operations, monitor changing needs for support and continuously identify any gaps and bottlenecks in operational capabilities and consequently adapt the logistics response as needed.
- Capacity Augmentation: The Logistics Sector aims to facilitate access to common temporary storage, to enable the forward positioning of relief materials, as well as limited equipment and key expertise to increase operational capacities within the humanitarian logistics community in northeast Nigeria.
Planned Activities
The following range of activities and services are not intended to replace the logistics capacities of individual agencies or organisations, but rather to fill identified gaps in the humanitarian supply chain and supplement the response of the humanitarian community through the provision of common services, based on need.
The following services will be made available to the humanitarian community:
Coordination
The following coordination services will be provided to facilitate an efficient and effective response, and to minimise duplication of efforts:
- A Logistics Sector coordination cell will be maintained in Maiduguri to coordinate the inter-agency efforts in collaboration with government counterparts.
- Organize regular coordination meetings in Maiduguri (and other locations as needed), to facilitate the exchange of information among actors.
- Coordinate with other sectors and organizations on incoming commodities and pipeline information for planning and scheduling. This includes participation in meetings organised by the Operational Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), Inter-Sector Working Group, Humanitarian Access Working Group, and the Humanitarian Hub Task Force.
- Liaise with relevant domestic and international authorities and parties on behalf of the humanitarian community to raise any logistical issues of common interest, including logistical access constraints and advocate for solutions.
Information Management
The information management role will be undertaken in the interests of promoting and facilitating the sharing of logistics information among all humanitarian organisations via:
- Consolidate and share operational environment information such as:
- available information on logistical capacities, such as road transport equipment and storage availability.
- up-to-date information on access, transport infrastructure and other national and state regulations affecting the humanitarian supply chain.
- Produce and facilitate access to GIS/mapping tools and products (as required)
- Maintain and continuously update LogIE for road accessibility ensuring the latest information is always available to allow partners to maximize their supply chain immediately as roads access status changes.
- Maintain information sharing platforms, including a joint distribution list and a dedicated Nigerian operations webpage on the Logistics Cluster website, to disseminate relevant logistics information: www.logcluster.org/sector/ngr16a
- The mapping and assessment of logistics infrastructures (roads, airports, ports, border crossing points), to be circulated and made available on the Logistics Capacity Assessment (LCA) portal: https://dlca.logcluster.org/nigeria
- Mapping tools and products, including specific maps of the logistics infrastructure, can also be developed on request.
Storage
The services facilitated by the Logistics Sector are not intended to replace the logistics capacities of the agencies or organisations, but rather to supplement them through the access to common services. Access permitting, the following services may be coordinated at no cost to the user, or on a partial/full cost-recovery basis, depending on the availability of funds.
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Common Storage
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Training
The Logistics Sector will continue strengthen the capacity of humanitarian actors in the areas of logistics through facilitating access to trainings:
- Conduct trainings to strengthen technical skills and promoted best practices among humanitarian actors
- Facilitate access to other relevant trainings for the humanitarian actors.
Annex I ConOps Map
