Giving Compass' Take:

• The World Health Organization launched a task force in April that is composed of various agencies identifying needs and making supplies available. 

• How can funders collaborate and create partnerships to unlock more resources for individuals in need?  

• Check out these high-quality, vetted coronavirus and COVID-19 funds. 

Getting humanitarian supplies where they need to go is a game of precision and meticulous planning under normal circumstances. Try adding a global, rapidly evolving pandemic to the mix, and you’ve described the current reality of World Health Organization (WHO) Operations Support and Logistics Chief Paul Molinaro. He is WHO’s point man for procuring life-saving COVID-19 equipment and supplies destined for countries hit hardest by the virus.

“There are a lot of pieces of a puzzle that have to be put into place at the same time,” Molinaro said.

In normal times, WHO fulfills country requests by placing orders through long-term contracts with vendors who ship cargo via freight forwarders. The COVID-19 pandemic turned the process upside down. Disruptions in manufacturing fractured global supply chains, creating shortages in the face of soaring demand. Market competition increased, trade restrictions were implemented, borders were closed, and commercial flights were grounded. These challenges created a whole new level of complexity.

In early April, the United Nations launched the UN COVID-19 Supply Chain Task Force – coordinated by WHO and the World Food Programme (WFP) – to massively scale up the procurement and delivery of personal protective equipment (PPE), testing and diagnostics supplies, and biomedical equipment like ventilators and oxygen concentrators. The Task Force leveraged the capabilities and expertise of each partner into a mega-consortium to identify procurement needs and better negotiate with suppliers.

Members include the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA); the World Bank, The Global Fund; the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS); the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR); NGOs, Red Cross and Federation, and other WHO partners. The goal: to make supplies available to everyone, wherever they are needed.

Read the full article about connecting links in COVID-19 supply chain by Sarah Alaoui at United Nations Foundation.