An annual visit to UNHRD Brindisi provides an opportunity to showcase to the Executive Board delegation a key element of WFP’s emergency preparedness and response capacity and its enabling role for humanitarian partners in support of SDG 17.
On 15 April, thirteen members and observers of the WFP Executive Board visited the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) hub in Brindisi, Italy. This is where UNHRD was first established and, has since adapted to an ever changing – and ever more complex – humanitarian environment. This annual one-day visit provides an opportunity for the delegation to learn about UNHRD’s history, facilities, and the comprehensive supply chain services that support WFP’s own operations and enable the global humanitarian community to prepare for and respond to emergencies. This year, they were joined by WFP’s Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Carl Skau.
UNHRD Brindisi is housed in a military installation, known as San Vito, which is located at the Brindisi military airport. The visiting delegation learned more about how WFP has established a global network of strategically located hubs to support its own emergency preparedness and response efforts, as well as those of humanitarian partners (UN agencies, NGOs and governments). On display at UNHRD Brindisi are snapshots of the Hub’s and the network’s operations to support WFP and partners’ responses in crisis-affected regions, including Gaza, the Sudan regional crisis, Türkiye, Syria and Afghanistan. Highlights of UNHRD’s operations and activities are illustrated in the recently released UNHRD 2023 Year in Review.
The delegation was also invited to visit other key initiatives, such as the UNHRD Lab, which assists partners in the research and development of stock items and other critical components used in the first phases of an emergency response. One of the stock items currently on display is an inflatable cold room adapted for use in humanitarian operations, such as in Al-Arish, Egypt to stock medicines and other temperature-sensitive supplies before they are delivered to Gaza.
The next stop of the visit was the hub’s main warehouse, which also houses a showroom of the most common items stocked in all UNHRD hubs, such as blankets, family tents, kitchen sets, hygiene kits, tarpaulins, prefabricated storage tents and accommodation units. Here, the Logistics team briefed participants on the wide range of supply chain services offered to partners.
The last stop at the San Vito premises was the Training Centre, where the delegation learned about the latest achievements of INITIATE, a multi-agency initiative aimed at developing innovative solutions to address humanitarian emergencies, including outbreaks and infectious disease. Participants in this project describe in a video the feedback from the installation and drills of the prototype of the prioritized solution, an infectious disease treatment module, which took place at UNHRD Brindisi in June 2023.
As the Learning Team of WFP Programme Operations Department – Staffing Coordination and Capacity Service was meeting at the hub to plan for their next simulation exercises, the delegation had the opportunity to interact with them and learn about their experience in organizing large-scale training at the hub. In particular, they described the unique infrastructure of the hub, which includes the newly refurbished Training Centre for classroom exercises and an extensive outdoor area for scenario-based simulations. They also described how UNHRD Brindisi has helped to facilitate the participation of several local civil and military authorities, who join the exercises to reproduce their roles or play the parts of other actors involved in a humanitarian crisis.
In 2024, UNHRD Brindisi is expected to host a total of 19 trainings and workshops for some 640 participants from WFP, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), including 180 WFP employees.
The Executive Board delegation then moved to the Italian Air Force compound at the Brindisi airport, where UNHRD maintains a hangar with temperature-controlled and cold room facilities, as well as a cargo centre. The Logistics team provided an overview of WFP’s quality management system for storing and dispatching health and temperature-sensitive supplies.
At the end of the trip, before a wrap up meeting with the UNHRD Team, the delegation also had the opportunity to visit the United Nations Global Service Centre (UNGSC). Part of the UN Department of Operational Support (DOS), it provides geospatial, information, telecommunications and supply chain support to peacekeeping and political missions and UN entities. As a co-located entity in Brindisi, UNHRD works closely in partnership with UNGSC, particularly around research and development – for example, the UNHRD Lab is currently working with the UNGSC "Solution Factory" to develop a solar containerized power storage solution that will improve energy efficiency and operational flexibility in the field.
From left:
- WFP Deputy Secretary to the Executive Board, Ms. Mihoko Tamamura
- French Interpreter, Ms. Lucrezia Distefano
- List D representative: Ms. Evelyn Ashton-Griffiths, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom
- List E representative: Ms. Eliza Kalita, First Secretary of Poland
- List A representative: Mrs. Chantal Moukoutou Legongo, Premier Conseiller, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of Gabon
- List C representative: Ms. Veronica Gomez Ricaurte, Minister and Alternate Permanent Representative of Ecuador
- List C representative: Ms. Paola Ramirez, Alternate Permanent Representative of Mexico
- List D representative: H.E. Ms. Krisztina Bende, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Switzerland
- List D representative: H.E. Mr. Marcel Joannes Maria Beukeboom, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Netherlands
- List A representative: Mrs. Lamia Ben Redouane, Deputy Permanent Representative and Counsellor of Algeria
- WFP Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Carl Skau
- List C representative: Ms. Any Lam Chong Leon, Deputy Permanent Representative of Panama
- UNHRD Network Coordinator, Mr. Walid Ibrahim
- List B representative: Mr. Yang Yang, First Secretary of China
- List E representative: Mrs. Dilyara Ravilova-Borovik, Deputy Permanent Representative of Russian Federation
- List A representative: Mr. Abdellah Larhmaid, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco
- List B representative: Mr. Dr. Balaji Jujjavarapu, Minister and Alternate Permanent Representative of India
- UNHRD Communication Officer, Mr. Andrea Tornese
Photo credit: WFP/Valerio Marraffa
