CIFFA Report
International Red Cross logistics for Afghanistan
Afghanistan, a landlocked country in the heart of Central Asia, ravaged by war and mismanagement, is virtually unable to reclaim a form of normalcy and self-sustenance without outside help. So, despite the unstable political situation and concerns for safety, the International Red Cross has greatly intensified its assistance over the last few months.
It must be observed here that the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) has been active in Afghanistan over the past 20 years and can thus tap into a wealth of experience to set up efficient transport chains to reach the designated areas in need of basic supplies.
Nearly 50 hospitals and first-aid stations are currently being restocked with a wide range of medication and health care necessities. In addition, needy families, clans and villages in remote areas are provided with basic foods, plastic tarpaulins and blankets to help them survive the harshness of the winter season.
In addition to the 10,000 tons of aid material already stored in Afghanistan prior to 9/11, the ICRC has supplied another 17,000 tons of such staples as clarified butter, dried peas, grain, rice and more than 1000 tons of materials such as blankets, plastic sheets and water receptacles in the short period between October and December of last year. Another 20,000 tons are scheduled for the period of January to April of this year.
By combining commodity pricing and logistics costs to bring goods to destination, the Red Cross attempts to stretch its dollars as far as it is feasible. Rice, for example, is bought in Pakistan and Iran, other grains from Kazakhstan, blankets from Kenya and plastic sheets from China. Medicine, hospital beds, water purification and sanitation equipment and other, more sophisticated products are sourced from Europe.
A further example of the ICRC’s ability to adapt to local requirements is the distribution of ‘sandaly,’ traditionally used by the Afghan people for heating. The sandaly is a low table with a slow-burning charcoal fire underneath. The ICRC distributes some 500 sandalys to households daily, together with two bags of charcoal, two blankets and a sheet of plastic.
To set up an effective distribution program within the well known complexities of a country still at war and often exposed to banditry, the ICRC has set up four main hubs in the relative safety of Turkmenabad/ Turkmenistan, Dushanbe/Tadjiikistan, Mashdad/ Iran and Peshawar/Pakistan.
| "By combining commodity pricing and logistics costs to bring goods to destination, the Red Cross attempts to stretch its dollar as far as feasible." | ||
Strategically well positioned, the hubs of Turkmenabad and Dushanbe can serve the northern part of Afghanistan through a further hub at Mazar-i-Sharif. The western part of Afghanistan is served through Mashad/Iran and Herat in Western Afghanistan. The southern sector, including Kabul, by way of Peshawar and Kandahar, is serviced through Peshawar/Quetta in Pakistan.
The “local hubs” in Afghanistan are largely looked upon as “through-put” hubs with quickest possible re-distribution, mainly due to the lack of large, secure facilities, as well as to avoid the temptation for banditry or local “warlord interference.”
In this context, high value goods are generally shipped by the ICRC’s own charter aircraft from Europe directly, or by protected truck convoys from one of the hubs set up beyond Afghanistan.
The ICRC employs six logistics experts at the head office in Geneva to handle and coordinate the often complex logistics challenges for such crisis missions. All the different threads of the supply chain management process come together in Geneva and are then coordinated with staff stationed at the various crisis points in the world. An important prerequisite for the success of the ICRC is the rapidity with which efficient transport chains can be set up. The organization is supported in its efforts by transport operators and a large number of freight forwarders, usually hand picked for their special expertise in a certain area.