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Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe Logistics Cluster: Snapshot on Harare interagency hub

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CHOLERA OUTBREAK & LOGISTICS CLUSTER

In response to the severe cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe that as affected, so far, 90,000 persons and claimed more than 4,000 lives, the Logistics Cluster has been established to support the humanitarian community in their emergency response. The Logistics Cluster, along with secondary transport, provides relief organizations with five interagency hubs spread over the country.

Those Hubs are used as transshipment point where cholera response supplies, coming mainly though the South African corridor or by air at the Harare international airport, are consolidated and kitted for further dispatch to the affected areas.

The interagency hubs store much needed cholera prevention and curative non-food items, such as water purification tablets, IV fluids bags, oral rehydratation salt tablets, soap bars, buckets and water tanks. Those essential relief items and supplies are dispatched on trucks to provincial or districts Hospital and field Cholera Treatments Centers/Units (CTC/CTU) in treat patients and prevent further contamination.

HARARE INTERAGENCY HUB

The present snapshot focus of the Harare interagency hub located in the industrial area of the capital. This dedicated interagency warehouse (dubbed =B4Cluster warehouse=B5 ) offering a storage area of 550 sqm, with office room, is part of a larger warehousing complex rented by the World Food Programme. In the event of increased storage needs by the international community, arrangements would be made to increase the storage capacity of the hub.

The establishment of this warehouse has been critical in offering a secure place for donations of cholera relief items to the Ministry of Health. Those NFI were previously stored at the National Pharmaceutical Company (Natpharm) warehouse in Harare, a government managed warehouse that was congestioned and facing substantial roof leakages.

Under the leadership of WHO and with the Logistics Cluster support, WHO cholera response supplies and all cholera outbreak related donations, where moved from NATPHARM to the interagency warehouse.

Two storekeepers have been recruited by WHO for the interagency warehouse and a stock management system has been setup.

From this warehouse, stock of cholera response supplies and incoming items such Interagency Diarrheal Disease Kit (IDDKs), airlifted to Harare by WHO, will be dispatched to all provinces by the Logistics Cluster, to support hundreds of cholera infected patients.

CARGO STORAGE REQUEST

Humanitarian organization can request support from the Logistics Cluster for warehousing by sending a Cargo Storage Request Form available on the logistics Cluster website www.logcluster.org/zwe09a to the log cluster at zimbabwe.cargo@logcluster.org

Once the request is processed, the organization will be advised when they should deliver their cargo at the chosen hub. From the hub, cargo will released to implementing partners or transporters by mean of the Cargo Release Order. The dedicate Logistics Cluster fleet can also provide support for deliveries to field.

Those services are provided free of charge to the humanitarian partners engaged in the cholera outbreak response.