BRINDISI, JUNE 25 – The UN base in Brindisi is 20 years old and for Italy is a reason to celebrate. “I celebrate with great joy the 20th anniversary of the UNHRD Base of the WFP in Brindisi. I had the pleasure and honor of visiting the base. Italy funds the base from which our humanitarian aid is distributed in the world. Italy and the Italian Cooperation are proud of the UNHRD and the WFP”, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emanuela Del Re, said on Twitter.
From the Brindisi base, managed by the WFP, the first emergency rescue services manage to reach crisis areas within 24/48 hours. Born from a far-sighted Italian idea back in the mid Eighties to pre-position first aid materials at the military airport of Pisa, in the following decade the base-depot was transferred to Brindisi, a location chosen for its logistics infrastructures and its key position in the heart of the Mediterranean.
Over time, the ‘Brindisi’ model was extended to five other logistics bases managed by WFP worldwide – in Las Palmas (Spain), Accra (Ghana), Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Panama City (Panama) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), strategically selected because close to disaster-prone areas. Initially, UNHRD worked with five humanitarian organizations. Now, with its network, it has agreements and provides services to 93 partners, including UN agencies, governments and NGOs.
The UNHRD base in Brindisi “is a great example of cooperation and efficiency. The strong partnership with Italy helps us save and change lives”, the WFP said on Twitter: “We could not do our job without the precious collaboration of Italy”. In 2019, the UNHRD network handled 613 operations, transporting humanitarian cargoes to 84 countries for a total of 9,850 tons on behalf of 42 organizations. (@OnuItalia)
