URCS, WFP sign cooperation agreement on logistics services
The Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) have signed a cooperation agreement on providing joint services within the Logistics Cluster.
"Today we are opening a new chapter of cooperation. We have always been reliable partners who coordinate our work well, but this operational interaction will help us integrate our capacities even more closely. This means more efficient and faster delivery of humanitarian aid to people who need it. At a time when humanitarian resources worldwide are shrinking and challenges are only growing, it is partnership and joint action that allow us to do more to support people and help them get through difficult times with dignity," URCS Director General Maksym Dotsenko has said.
The partnership between the Ukrainian Red Cross Society and the World Food Programme aims to improve the efficiency and safety of humanitarian logistics, particularly in delivering aid directly to the most remote communities and frontline settlements.
"WFP and the Ukrainian Red Cross are working together to deliver critical humanitarian assistance to the most hard-to-reach areas of Ukraine located directly near the frontline. By sharing experience, resources and tools, we will strengthen our logistics operations and offer services that will benefit the entire humanitarian response system, including small local organizations with limited logistical capacity," WFP Country Director in Ukraine Richard Ragan said.
The new cooperation agreement stipulates several key areas. First, it includes support for the transportation and storage of humanitarian cargo in hard-to-reach areas. Second, the agreement provides for the use of shared cargo tracking systems to ensure transparency and efficiency in logistics operations. Third, it guarantees compliance with international safety standards, cargo handling protocols and humanitarian principles.
Within this cooperation, WFP will provide the necessary tools for tracking humanitarian shipments and offer support in organizing logistics processes.
In Ukraine, the Logistics Cluster has been operating since early March 2022, supporting humanitarian response efforts and providing services to local and international organizations. During this time, more than 200 convoys carrying food, medicines and other humanitarian aid have been coordinated to frontline areas.
The Logistics Cluster is a mechanism for coordinating logistics responses during emergencies and crises, including the transportation and delivery of humanitarian aid to hard-to-reach areas. WFP is the lead agency responsible for the cluster's activities, ensuring coordination, information management and the provision of shared logistics services for humanitarian organizations.
