Emergency Response capacity of the World Food Programme strengthened by donation of special vehicles from the Russian Federation

The World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes the Russian Federation’s donation of 97 KAMAZ trucks and 30 trailers, which will greatly enhance its transport capacity.

Today’s handover marks another important milestone in the historic and long-lasting partnership between the Russian Federation and WFP in the area of logistics technology. This recent donation will help boost the operational performance of three of WFP Regional Fleet Hubs, namely in the UAE, Ghana, and Uganda.

“Russian humanitarian technology is highly valued in all settings and we are very pleased to contribute to WFP’s mission of saving and changing lives, especially in the most challenging operations affected by war and natural disaster,” said Vladimir Solovyov, Director of the Department of International Activities of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation and Head of the Russian National Emergency Humanitarian Response Corps.

On any given day, WFP operates an average of 5,000 commercially contracted trucks. In difficult operational environments, where needs exceed the capacities of commercial transporters, the organisation relies on its own fleet of nearly 800 heavy-duty trucks that are designed to cope with the toughest road conditions.

“This is the third time the Russian Federation generously supports our fleet capacity, following the 2011 and the 2014 donations,” said Mageed Yahia, WFP Director in UAE and Representative for GCC region. “These KAMAZ trucks and trailers have enabled WFP to augment its operational transport capacity and improve the efficiency of its emergency response facilities significantly. Without them, the delivery of food assistance to those in need and provision of logistical support to the humanitarian community would have been much more difficult and way too expensive.”

In 2011, WFP benefitted from a donation by the Russian Federation of 40 KAMAZ trucks which were successfully integrated into WFP’s fleet in Afghanistan and helped improve its efficiency. This was followed by a historic contribution of an additional 218 KAMAZ trucks in 2014 which were deployed to WFP’s operations in DRC, CAR, South Sudan and Ethiopia. They enabled WFP to augment its operational transport capacity and improve its emergency response facilities significantly. KAMAZ will also be providing a three-year training program to WFP fleet and workshop managers, mechanics and drivers.

Original source: WFP
Published on 21 May 2019