São Paulo – Starting now, the food donated by the The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) to Somalia should be distributed from a warehouse in Dubai. From there, 5,000 tonnes of soy grain and maize meal, for example, will be shipped to the Horn of Africa, where 1.5 million children need humanitarian aid. The new distribution centre will make the food reach the needy regions faster.
According to the supply division at the Unicef, Shanelle Hall, the new distribution centre should help them have greater control of the food donated, from its exit point to delivery to the needy. “It will help us guarantee a greater supply of food to the needy children and their families,” he said.
Prior to this new distribution centre, donations were distributed to the Horn of Africa from the port of Mumbasa, in Kenya, which was heavily congested. This route, however, will not be abandoned by the Unicef.
According to Unicef, out of the 1.5 million children who need humanitarian aid, 450,000 are malnourished and 190,000 are acutely malnourished, and may die in the coming weeks if they “do not receive the necessary aid.”
The new distribution centre was enabled through a US$ 750,000 donation from the Kuehne Foundation, owned by the German businessman Klaus-Michael Kuehne. According to Unicef, the donation will also cover the warehouse’s operating costs during six months. Logistical costs, including transport, storage and distribution of food, represent the highest cost implied by emergency aid, according to Unicef.
*Translated by Mark Ament and Gabriel Pomerancblum
