Savings through improved storage
Bulk storage silos are used for the first time at the Humanitarian Logistics Hub in Djibouti
For the first time in WFP’s history, grain was moved in bulk on trucks from a ship to four cargo silos at the Humanitarian Logistics Hub, 20 kilometers from Djibouti port. The trial movement of 6,000 mt of sorghum was done by a local Djibouti transporter, using 85 trucks over three days to move the food and complete a successful trial.
“The commissioning of the silos in the hub will allow WFP and the wider humanitarian community to dispatch humanitarian assistance more quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively in the region,” explained Amir Ismail, WFP’s Head of Logistics in Djibouti.
The four bulk cargo silos — capable of holding 10,000 metric tons of food each — will enable more rapid off-loading of ships, lowering costs for WFP and helping to reduce congestion in the port for all users. The Humanitarian Logisitics Hub was opened in January 2016 to support assistance operations across the Horn of Africa by improving storage and transport of relief goods.
Once the food was off-loaded, WFP commissioned the four bagging machines, re-bagging the bulk sorghum into 50 kilograms bags which were loaded onto trucks to go to Ethiopia. The Société Djiboutienne de Gestion du Terminal Vraquier (SDTV) delegated 40 staff to support WFP for the re-bagging activity.
About one quarter of the people that WFP assists worldwide live in countries supported by the Djibouti hub. So far in 2017, WFP has moved about 200,000 metric tons of food through the Djibouti port. The port is the main gateway for food entering Ethiopia, and is also an important trans-shipment point for WFP emergency operations in South Sudan, Yemen, and Somalia
The Humanitarian Logistics Hub is key to the achievements of the new UN Development Assistance Framework 2018–2022 in Djibouti enhancing global partnership (Sustainable Development Goal 17).
