Objectives
The Logistics Cluster and UNHAS work closely to provide the humanitarian actors with access to logistics services.
The Logistics Cluster is co-led by the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission (EDRMC). As a provider of last resort, the Logistics Cluster is responsible for providing logistics services that fill identified gaps in logistics capacity, where access and funding permit and where these gaps limit the ability of the humanitarian community to meet their logistics needs in carrying out the humanitarian response. In response to the current situation and additional expected challenges, the Logistics Cluster objective will continue to be the provision of access to common logistics services (storage and transport), free of charge to the humanitarian partner organizations as a last resource. By supporting partner organizations with access to common services, the Logistics Cluster enables the humanitarian community to achieve economies of scale and to focus their resources on delivering their main mandates. Additionally, the Logistics Cluster’s objective is to support the coordination effort in different parts of the country as required, to minimize the duplications of efforts and ensure cost effectiveness for partners, as well as to support the timely sharing of logistics information to all partners involved in the response. The Logistics Cluster aims to continue to serve as a one-stop shop for both humanitarian partners and government counterparts and act as a platform for further cohesion and synergies between humanitarian actors in Ethiopia regarding logistics gaps.
UNHAS Air services provided by the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) continue to constitute the only option to travel to some destinations within Ethiopia. The lack of a safe, secure, and efficient commercial alternative makes UNHAS one of few options to reach those locations safely and ensure a high standard of aviation security on the ground. The need for UNHAS to provide crucial air services for the entire humanitarian community will remain at the core of the logistics response. The United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) provides safe, reliable, efficient, and cost-effective inter-agency air transport services (regular scheduled flights and special/ad-hoc/charter flights) to key locations for 150 UN agencies, NGOs and donor organizations providing humanitarian assistance in Ethiopia, thereby supporting life-saving relief programs.
Response
Based on the needs expressed and identified by the humanitarian community, the Government of Ethiopia, the Humanitarian Country Team and the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group, the Logistics Cluster aims to continue to facilitate access to sufficient and reliable information sharing, coordination mechanisms and access to logistics services, in particular storage and overland transport for humanitarian organizations within Ethiopia. While the Logistics Cluster supports the entire humanitarian community, prioritization of activities is done based on funding available and priority areas targeted by relevant clusters.
- Filling logistics gaps for partners by providing common services such as storage and transportation services, as well as coordination of convoy movements.
- Coordination and Information Management on logistics gaps and bottlenecks in strategic locations and continue to provide a common platform for government counterparts and humanitarian partners in Ethiopia, regarding logistics concerns and emergency preparedness.
Through its response, the Logistics Cluster will contribute to the humanitarian partners’ ability to reach affected populations in need despite logistics bottlenecks faced by the responding partners.
UNHAS
The limited safe, secure, and efficient commercial alternatives endorsed by the United Nations to fly humanitarian personnel across some areas in Ethiopia make the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) one of the few options to reach locations safely while providing high standards of aviation security. To address this, WFP will continue to run UNHAS to enable humanitarian workers to reach and respond to needs through the implementation and monitoring of projects. UNHAS will provide safe, efficient, and cost-effective inter-agency transport to UN agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other stakeholders; transport light cargo (including medical supplies and high-value equipment); and provide timely medical and security evacuations for the humanitarian community. UNHAS Ethiopia’s operational fleet consists of two fixed-wing aircraft (C208Bs Cessnas Grand Caravan), serving mainly the Somali region of Ethiopia. In 2024, UNHAS plans to extend its regular flights to destinations such as Dollo Ado and Bokh, both in the Somali region as soon as these become serviceable. UNHAS will also monitor its user demand in terms of new requirements for additional destinations and may adapt its routings and/or fleet accordingly.
Financial requirements
The operational requirements are estimated based on the current costs of the seven logistics and coordination hubs in Ethiopia (Adama, Bahir Dar, Gondar, Kombolcha, Shire, Mekelle, and Semera). As outlined in the cost breakdown, most of the requirements are driven by common services such as storage and transportation, free of cost to services users. The common services are free of use to all partners that are registered organization in Ethiopia.
However, the operational requirements could be subject to review should additional logistics gaps and needs be identified and require Logistics Cluster support.
- IM & Coordination= US$1,000,000
- Storage = US$3,000,000
- Transport (road and freight) = US$5,000,000
- UNHAS= US$7,000,000.00
- Total = US$15,000,000
- Out of which: US$9,000,000 is for Logistics Cluster.
Monitoring
The Logistics Cluster monitors its logistics services through the Relief Item Tracking Application (RITA). All Service Request Forms (SRFs) submitted by partners requesting logistics services provide data on the type of service required and details on the cargo which is requested to be handled on behalf of the Logistics Cluster.
Additionally, the Logistics Cluster tracks the movement of cargo movement within Ethiopia in collaboration with teams and partners on the ground and using established reporting channels.
The Logistics Cluster updates its Concept of Operations as required and is accessible on the Logistics Cluster website. The document outlines the modalities of accessing the common services through the Logistics Cluster and the mandate of the Logistics Cluster in Ethiopia.
Regarding the Logistics Cluster’s coordination mandate, the Logistics Cluster tracks the attendance of partners at the regular coordination meetings taking place in its different hubs. This is done thanks to the available functions on Teams and saves this information to report monthly on the number of partners attending coordination meetings.
For its information management mandate, the Logistics Cluster tracks the number of published Information management products on its website, and through the support of the Logistics Cluster headquarters, is also tracking the number of visits on the website.
The Logistics Cluster Coordinator will provide operational reports to the Head of Supply Chain and WFP Country Director on regular basis, as well as updates to other humanitarian bodies, such as the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), Inter Cluster Coordination Group (ICCG), Emergency Coordination Centre (ECC), OCHA, and the humanitarian partner it facilitates services for, as required.
UNHAS monitoring follows WFP Aviation standard procedures to minimize risks and ensure operational efficiency and effectiveness. UNHAS’ main governing body is the Steering Committee (SC), based in Addis Ababa to provide administrative advice and guidance on funding modalities and mobilization, review of utilization of air transport resources, and the host government’s policies on air transport for humanitarian activities. The flight schedule and the operational fleet are adjusted if and when required following feedback from users at the User Group Committee (UGC) meetings. UNHAS Ethiopia monitors and evaluates passenger and cargo traffic using its Performance Management Tool (PMT), which allows for trends to be visualized and performances to be monitored. The PMT enables the identification of strategic and operational areas for improvement (efficiency/ effectiveness). In addition, surveys such as the Passenger Satisfaction Survey (PSS) and the Provision of Access Satisfaction Survey (PASS) are used to measure the overall satisfaction of users and to ensure that UNHAS is adequately serving the needs of the humanitarian community.