DP World will provide pro bono expertise and resources to help the humanitarian community respond to major disasters after joining leading logistics and transport companies to become part of the Logistics Emergency Teams (LET), the company said in its press release.
DP World will team up with the initial LET partners Agility, Maersk and UPS, and will be called on by the Logistics Cluster, led by the United Nations’ World Food Programme to support immediate relief efforts in the aftermath of major natural disasters such as earthquakes, storms and floods.
The global trade enabler formalised its commitment by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the World Food Programme at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
DP World will provide logistics services, for instance helping with the shipment and storage of humanitarian aid. In addition, selected employees in disaster prone countries will receive LET specialist training to improve their ability in coordinating response efforts.
All work will be directed by the Logistics Cluster, which provides coordination, information management and facilitates access to common logistics services to organisations responding to an emergency.
This public-private partnership brings together the resources of the logistics industry and the emergency experience of the humanitarian community, ensuring effective and efficient response and ultimately contributing to saving lives, alleviating suffering and protecting dignity.
As a global trade enabler working in 40 countries across six continents, DP World is well placed to provide its expertise and resources after major disasters. Its involvement in the Logistics Emergency Teams builds on its existing disaster response framework that details processes the company has in place to ensure the best collective impact, including how employees respond to catastrophes.
DP World’s previous contributions to disaster response efforts have included providing aid through fundraising and gifts after the 2013 Typhoon in the Philippines and the earthquake in Nepal in 2015.