USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID/BHA) supports logistics and supply-chain related assistance, deploys experienced logistics personnel, and maintains warehouses storing relief commodities around the globe as part of its effort to ensure rapid responses to humanitarian emergencies. USAID/BHA logistics experts are based in Washington, D.C. and manage the procurement and delivery of food and life-saving relief items to populations in need; provide technical assistance to host government counterparts, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and UN agencies in the immediate aftermath of a humanitarian emergency; and support disaster risk reduction efforts to mitigate the impact of future disasters on supply chains. USAID/BHA also stores up to 100,000 metric tons (MT) of food commodities and emergency relief supplies—such as blankets, hygiene supplies, kitchen sets, and plastic sheeting—at eight warehouses located in Djibouti, Ghana, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, and Florida and Texas in the United States to prepare for and respond rapidly to any emergency. In FY 2023, USAID/BHA offered logistical assistance in response to rapid-onset and protracted humanitarian emergencies by providing operational support and supplying relief items to address food; health; nutrition; shelter; and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) needs across multiple affected regions.
