Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

Ethiopia + 3 more

UNHRD Humanitarian Response Depot: 2021 in Review (April 2022)

Attachments

Foreword

Although the global supply chain has recovered substantially since 2020, new waves of COVID-19 in 2021 continued to hit hard with the pandemic representing the single major crisis of the past year. Due to effects of the pandemic coupled with conflicts, instability, natural hazards and the climate crisis, the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in 2021 has been driven up to 235 million.

UNHRD once again rose to the challenge, enabling partners to deliver much needed aid across the world, and as needs rose, there was a subsequent increase in operations. Comparing consignments managed in 2021 to those managed before the pandemic, there was an increase of 71 percent in 2021, of which 25 percent were non COVID-19 related.

Against the backdrop of ever-increasing operations, UNHRD identified the need for an external assessment to review stakeholder expectations, partner satisfaction and its funding model. Partners were engaged at various levels, and feedback received maintained that UNHRD is crucial for their preparedness and response efforts and remains a vital service in the context of the rapidly changing humanitarian sector.

Recognition of UNHRD’s key role in the humanitarian sector also came during a G20 ministerial event co-organized by the Government of Italy and the World Food Programme (WFP) at UNHRD Brindisi. Under the theme “The role of logistics in preparedness and response for COVID-19 pandemic and future humanitarian and health crisis”, the event contributed to the development of a greater understanding of UNHRD’s capabilities within this context amongst member states.

In July 2021, following this G20 event, WFP and the World Health Organization (WHO) launched INITIATE2, a project based out of UNHRD Brindisi that brings together emergency actors, and research and academic institutions to combine efforts and expertise to develop standardized, innovative solutions such as disease-specific field facilities and kits.

Predictable funding and support remain vital to the success of UNHRD. In 2021, host countries and longstanding donors continued to secure their engagement in UNHRD’s sustainability and growth and signalled their continued support for the UNHRD model through announcements for future developments.

As recognized during the G20 event, logistics is the backbone of every humanitarian response. In turn, what keeps the complex ecosystem of supply chain running are the people working behind the scenes. Furthermore, in this report we introduce you to some of the UNHRD staff across the hubs who, whether recently arrived or with long-serving experience, passionately and professionally ensure the success of our operations.