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IOM, Kuehne Foundation, German Jordanian University Train Iraq Aid Workers in Humanitarian Supply Chain Logistics

Iraq - The 4th Humanitarian Supply Chain Simulator (HSCS), a training aimed at improving the skills of humanitarian professionals, has been held in Jordan.

This joint initiative of the Kuehne Foundation and the German Jordanian University, supported by IOM, included participants from UNHCR, the International Rescue Committee, Save the Children, the Egyptian Red Crescent and the German Jordanian University.

Many of the participants are part of the humanitarian response to the Iraq crisis, where in 2014 alone over 2 million Iraqis have been displaced due to conflict.  Displaced people have immediate need for water, food, clothing, shelter and non-food items, and need assistance to prepare for cold winter months.

The goal of the HSCS training is to enhance participants’ skills in humanitarian supply chain management. Humanitarian supply chains are often faced with challenges of low-infrastructure, high-risk environments, limited resources, tight deadlines and uncertain means of communication. Humanitarian logisticians must continue to deliver life-saving assistance in these challenging environments.

The 13 participants engaged in simulations of humanitarian emergencies, exercises that explored each role in the supply chain, from donor to warehouse management and transportation. Their goal: to deliver life-saving humanitarian assistance in the right quantities in areas of greatest need.

“In a humanitarian crisis, logistics saves lives. Poor coordination can have catastrophic consequences,” said Olaf Janssen, facilitator of the event. “Working together with IOM, the Kuehne Foundation has identified a need for strengthened logistics processes and so has provided a series of capacity-building initiatives to strengthen logistics in the humanitarian sector. We are working in uncharted territory when it comes to humanitarian logistics and hope to set standards that will improve the delivery of life-saving aid.”

HSCS was first piloted in 2013 as part of the “Flying Masters” programme of MASHOM, an advanced master’s programme in Humanitarian Operations and Supply Chain Management, a collaboration between the Università della Svizzera Italiana, the Kuehne Foundation and IOM. Positive results and feedback resulted in the launch of HSCS sessions in Amman, Jordan.

IOM Iraq Chief of Mission Thomas Lothar Weiss, a participant in the simulator, stressed the need for such innovative training. “IOM Iraq is working across 18 governorates to provide immediate assistance to millions of people affected by the Iraq crisis. Over 60,000 non-food item kits have been distributed across the country this year. IOM’s strategic partnership with the Kuehne Foundation aims to strengthen our logistics response to this humanitarian crisis. It is to IOM’s benefit to work with one of the world’s foremost foundations that applies logistics training to humanitarian supply chain management.”

For more information, please contact

Sandra Black

IOM Iraq

Email: sblack@iom.int

Tel. +964 751 234 2550