By Maxwell Nkansah
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is partnering with global corporations to build a world-class transport training center in Accra, Ghana.
The center is aimed at enhancing transport and logistics capacities across West Africa, injecting new expertise into local transport markets and equipping them to deliver life-saving goods, such as food and medicine, more efficiently throughout the region.
This was contained in a statement copied to the Ghanaian Times in Accra yesterday.
WFP’s Director of Supply Chain, Alex Marianelli, said bringing together leading players in the sector, such as Carrier Global Corporation, Renault Trucks, and Toyota Tsusho, the government of Ghana and WFP would set up a first-of-its-kind center that will offer free online and hands-on training to up to 400 people per year.
He said the training would be provided on best practices in road transport, fleet management, and the safe transport of temperature-sensitive commodities.
Mr. Marianelli stated that trainees would include staff from humanitarian organizations, governments, and the local private sector.
WFP’s Director of Supply Chain said that over the last couple of years, his outfit had seen how important strong and resilient supply chains were, adding that the training center was a critical step towards building stronger supply chains in West Africa.
“We are excited to share our knowledge and experience and—through our partners—provide access to the latest knowledge from leading experts,” he added.
He said increased local capacities and expertise in the supply chain would, in turn, support WFP’s emergency and resilience-building operations in vulnerable communities across West Africa.
Mr. Marianelli said construction of the center was expected to commence later this year with the financial support of the Government of Japan on land donated by the Government of Ghana as part of the existing WFP United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot operations.
He said through the center, partners and stakeholders aimed to address the challenges hindering the development of the transport sector across West Africa, including a lack of training opportunities and limited technical know-how.
