The World Food Programme (WFP) is the leading humanitarian organization saving and changing lives by delivering food assistance and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience.
WFP’s Regional Bureau Nairobi, Kenya (RBN) provides support to eight countries in the Eastern Africa region as of 2018; namely Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan and Uganda. This region accommodates several challenges of displacement and hunger caused by prolonged conflict, political instability, economic collapse, seasonal droughts and floods, and active terrorism. Some 23 million people have been facing severe food insecurity in the area, resulting in the profound need for extensive humanitarian assistance.
Takako Kaneda serves as a UN Volunteer Logistics Officer with WFP under the Human Resource Development Programme for Peacebuilding and Development. Dedicated to project and information management, HRD-UN Volunteer Takako Kaneda provided technical support to those WFP country offices in the Eastern Africa, including the most volatile countries Somalia and South Sudan.
Takako engaged in capacity building and offered innovative approaches to integrate technology and data-driven decision making into logistics forecasting, monitoring and operations. She also played a pivotal role in coordinating and facilitating high-level donor meetings, scoping missions, workshops and the 6th Africa Logistics Conference.
WFP in the Eastern Africa has implemented one of the largest and most vigorous humanitarian logistics operations in the world. For instance, logistics for the South Sudan emergency operation is the most complex and dynamic.
Considering the landlocked geographic location, food and humanitarian relief items are supplied through three main corridors from Uganda and Kenya, Ethiopia, and Sudan. To ensure maximal operational agility, a combination of heavy-tonnage aircraft, helicopters, river barges and boats, and road transport are used to deliver humanitarian assistance.
Road accessibility is often impeded and unpredictable due to the seasonal rainfall and persistent conflict; hence, airdrop operations is adopted to deliver to the most hard-to-reach area. However, the air delivery cost is significantly higher than other delivery modes.
Takako’s assignment contributed to the achievement of SDG 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture, as well as SDG 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development. WFP is the leading agency of SDG 2 for saving lives and changing lives by delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience.
Original source: UN Volunteers
Published on 14 February 2019
