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2^nd LOGISTICS SUPPORT SYSTEMS WORKSHOP 

in HUMANITARIAN OPERATIONS

OCHA/WFP/WHO/PAHO 
Geneva, 10 to 11 July 2002

Background

On 25^th -27^th July, 2001, the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), convened the first "International Workshop on Logistic Support Systems (LSS) in humanitarian operations". At the meeting, the participants recommended the development of a global information system for the management of relief supplies in disasters and emergencies. In addition to the need for a common classification of relief items, the need for a capacity building initiative for local authorities and NGOs and establishing channels of communication among the community of users, the participants highlighted the need for a jointly organised follow-up meeting within a year. 

Accordingly this follow-up workshop was hosted by OCHA on July 10-11, at Palais des Nations, in Geneva. The workshop brought together over 60 experts from member countries, UN Organizations, the Red Cross movement and humanitarian NGOs. The objectives of the meeting were to;

·          review progress made on recommendations adopted at the first meeting in July 2001 and discuss other initiatives

·          chart the next steps towards coordination of the LSS in humanitarian operations. 

Following the official opening of the workshop by Mr Ross Mountain, Assistant Emergency Relief Coordinator and Director of OCHA Geneva, the workshop participants were presented with the progress reports that highlighted;

Commodities Classifications and Coding

·          Although extensive analyses has been done and discussion conducted with stakeholders no agreement was reached in choosing a common classifications and coding system

·          The experience UN Joint Logistic Centre (UN-JLC) operation in Afghanistan demonstrated the vital role of common logistic information system for coordination of life saving effort.

Software Development

·          FUNDUSUMA released the latest SUMA Version 5.2 with basic code translator

·          Specification for the Global SUMA software and common data warehouse was updated based on technological advances and users requirements

·          The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is developing a CTS with the support of Fritz Institute (a private foundation) and a number of NGOS are updating their systems with the support of Microsoft.

Capacity Building

·          A few training opportunities were offered during the year due to funding problem. Preliminary discussion is going on with potential academic and NGO partners to set up decentralised capacity. A number of countries have also expressed interest in having training

Advocacy and Communications Among Community of Users

·          The LSS page has been set-up on the Reliefweb (http://www.reliefweb.int/lss) and a web board for discussion added (http://webconferences.itu.int/~logistics/login). As agreed during the meeting, all participants have been registered by OCHA.

·          The initiative was endorsed by the Inter Agency Steering Committee Working Group (IASC/WG) and presented as an accountability and transparency tool on a number of fora.

These reports assisted participants in sharing the developments since the last workshop and served as backgrounds for the two working groups that discussed in detail i) problems and recommendations in using a "common classification and coding system" and ii) software solution and the revised specification for the development of a common Global SUMA (LSS) software and data warehouse. Based on consensus issues reached by the participants and further discussions in plenary, the participants identified the following next steps and the time lines;

1.       To set-up a small working group on common coding and classification system and to finalise the issue with 60 days

·          A working group consisting of WFP, UNICEF, UNHCR, MSF, IFRC/ICRC, OXFAM, GTU and FUNDESUMA was established to work on the common coding and classification system.

·          Electronic discussion  and teleconferences (through http://webconferences.itu.int/~logistics /login)to be considered as options for communication.

·          The group is expected to finalise its work and report back by 10^th Sept. 2002.

·          The expected output of the working group are to a detailed analytical report the various systems and their common features between together with conclusions recommendations and logical coding system for the new LSS to be developed.

2.       To convene a workshop to finalise the software specification in 90 days

·          The specification for the LSS software (based on SUMA) needs to be further analysed and agreed upon. For this it was agreed to organise a workshop by mid October 2002 and bring together 15-20 experienced logisticians, software experts and managers to discuss and finalize it.

·          To facilitate this, agencies having a CTS agreed to share the specification of their software with the group facilitated by software expert. WHO and PAHO offered the necessary funding of such expert (for two months) and the workshop.

·          The PAHO proposal of calling the meeting in Washington DC was accepted..

Once these two processes are finalised and the necessary funding secured the software development will commence in January 2003. On the other hand if sufficient funding is not secured the initiative will be terminated.

3.       To take stock of logistic training efforts and synergise efforts in the different agencies.

·          Most partners have training programmes for their logistic staff or their partners at field level. It is essential at this stage to first share information on the available training events. WFP agreed to carry out a baseline survey on logistic training programmes available and report back to the next LSS Workshop and/or post the results on the LSS page in ReliefWeb. WHO is also going to systematize the information on logistic training events and post it on the web.

·          The electronic web board can also be used to advertise training events

·          FUNDESUMA to share their experience in SUMA training with partners.

4.       The management structure proposed by OCHA will be further discussed among the four agencies.

5.       It was suggested for the partnership to include UNICEF and UNHCR. This was also agreed to be addressed among the four partner agencies