PHA-Exchange> NEW UN PARTNERSHIP LAUNCHED TO SPEED UP MEDICAL AID IN EMERGENCIES AROUND THE WORLD

[Claudio]

From: "Vern Weitzel" <vern at coombs.anu.edu.au>

> Numerous victims of natural or man-made emergencies around the world will 
> have access to life-saving medical supplies within 48 hours, even when 
> several major crises strike simultaneously, under a new United Nations 
> initiative announced today.
>
> The UN World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/en">WHO) is teaming 
> up in a partnership with the UN World Food Programme 
> (<"http://www.wfp.org/english">WFP) to use regional WFP logistics hubs to 
> stock strategic supplies of relief goods and equipment. When the network 
> is complete, the facilities in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and 
> Latin America will allow a multi-pronged response anywhere in the world at 
> one time.
>
> "The partnership with WFP and our logistics hubs will improve how promptly 
> we can deliver supplies enabling us to save more lives," WHO Health Action 
> in Crises official Ala Alwan 
> <"http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/new/2007/nw02/en">said.
>
> The collaboration of the logistics hubs combines WHO's capacity in 
> building supplies such as emergency health care kits, medicines, and 
> transportation vehicles with the WFP's logistical infrastructure. Hubs are 
> already operating in Brindisi, Italy and Dubai and just this week an 
> African hub opened in Ghana. Two more, in Panama and Malaysia, will be 
> operational in the first half of this year.
>
> The two organizations have a strong history of collaboration including 
> most recently in Lebanon where WHO and WFP worked together to deliver 
> supplies promptly despite last summer's 34-day war between Israel and 
> Hizbollah and difficult access.
>
> In 2005, the agencies worked together on 69 projects in 42 countries. More 
> than 69 per cent of the joint activities were in emergency and recovery 
> operations.