1 March 2008
Addis Ababa — The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) last week signed an agreement with the Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway to transport food stocks to the agency's and partners' warehouse hubs in Dire Dawa.
The UN agency signed the agreement on the 15th February 2008 to allow food transportation from Djibouti to destinations in Ethiopia and it hopes the rail transport service would soon be extended to Nazareth, the location of WFP's biggest warehouse centre in the country.
An initial 1,300 metric tons of sorghum and 30 metric tons of fortified food was dispatched from Djibouti to Dire Dawa between 23 and 26 February by rail," the UN agency said in a statement issued on Friday.
It said seven locomotives and forty-six train wagon were used to transport the food to Dire Dawa, from where it was immediately loaded onto lorries bound for the Somali region of eastern Ethiopia.
"WFP's global logistical operations are often quite complex, and involve deploying planes, helicopters, boats and Lorries to ensure that food reaches those who need it the most," said Abnezer Ngowi, WFP Acting Country Director in Ethiopia said in the statement.
"But equally, our logistics can also be extremely simple. In Ethiopia, thousands of donkeys are utilized in many pastoralist areas, such as in Afar, to get food to beneficiaries. We are always exploring new ways of assisting people quickly and efficiently, and the resumption of our agreement with Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway line, is a very positive development in this regard," he added.
WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency: this year, WFP plans to feed more than 70 million people in around 80 countries.
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