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Pan American Health
Organization
Regional Office of
the
World Health
Organization
Humanitarian Relief
Supply Management project
1997-2001
Executive Summary
Launched in 1991, the project SUMA aimed to improve the
operational management of humanitarian supplies through inventory and
classification of all incoming relief items. This report covers the second phase
(1997-2001) of this project funded, for the most part, by the government of the
Netherlands.
The results achieved in the second phase meet the requirements
outlined in the project document and can be summarized as follows:
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A standardized methodology, including classification of items, is
widely accepted in Latin America and the Caribbean. This SUMA methodology is
either finally embedded in the policies and plans of the countries or de facto
implemented at operational levels.
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In most countries, a policy on the management of relief supplies
(criteria for acceptance of donations, assignment of responsibility for
centralized inventory, exchange of information, transparency) is either adopted
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Civil Defense), under review, or considered. There
is room for further improvement in the actual implementation of the final
guidelines or policies.
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The software has been maintained and upgraded toward one platform
through close consultation with all the users. This end-user approach, as
well as a consistent effort to keep the system simple (some would say
simplistic) and easy to use, is in our opinion, the key to broad acceptance of
the software. More than 1,500 copies have either been distributed as CD-ROMS or
downloaded off the Internet.
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Training has evolved considerably in the second phase. Emphasis
now centers on the management principles for humanitarian supplies, from initial
requests to final distributions, rather than on the use of the software.
Although roughly 3,000 volunteers are familiarized with SUMA, local volunteers
are often unavailable, and understandably so, to tend to the immediate aftermath
of a major disaster on short notice. SUMA is becoming a major instrument for the
neighboring countries to express their solidarity in a purposeful and efficient
manner.
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SUMA teams are now a standard presence in all disasters occurring
in the Region as a result of the Hurricanes Georges and Mitch, the floods in
Venezuela, the earthquakes in El Salvador and Peru, as well as the many refugees
escaping notice of the international mass media.
The universal application of SUMA in the Region has been made
possible by the capacity building approach adopted by the project and sense of
ownership by national institutions, from governments to NGOs.
The impact, according to an external evaluation in El Salvador,
seems marked more so by increased transparency and accountability rather than by
coordination between all humanitarian actors.
The future of SUMA and its sustainability, depends heavily on
two complementary factors:
- Increasing use at the regional level for routine (non-emergency)
management of supplies. Albeit slowly, SUMA is being adopted by either health
institutions, NGOs, or civil defense, as a simple, entry level routine supply
management system in normal times.
- Adoption of SUMA as a global tool for promoting coordination,
transparency, and accountability in humanitarian response. A decisive turning
point was reached at a workshop on Logistic Supplies Systems organized by WHO,
PAHO, UFP, and OCHA in July of 2001. At this meeting, UN agencies and large NGOs
agreed to the launching of a Global SUMA project to adopt and expand the
experience gained in the lateral project funded by the Netherlands government.
The prospect of a redesigned SUMA for global humanitarian
response is the result of the sustained support of a farsighted government as
well as the dedication of the staff and volunteers from FUNDESUMA, a regional
NGO established in Costa Rica.
The investment by the Netherlands of under $250,000 for a
duration of nine years has provendto be most beneficial for the countries in the
Americas and other countries as well.
Complete report on Humanitarian Supply
Management Project for the period
1997 - 2001.
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