WFP Logistics - Ecuador

WFP in Ecuador provides food assistance to the Government of Ecuador in the area of mother and child health, school feeding, vulnerable group feeding, nutrition, adult literacy and advocacy under cooperation agreements. Through these programs, the government has been assisting about 2 million beneficiaries every year.

Thousands of metric tons of food have been purchase and distributed by WFP's logistics national network through 19 contracted commercial warehouses throughout the country using commercial transport contractors. During 2008, approximately 50,000 metric tons of food were delivered to beneficiaries via approximately 18,000 delivery points countrywide using the WFP network by road, air, sea and river transport.

In Ecuador, WFP is highly recognized for its support in emergency operations. It participates in the regional emergency food planning and provides technical advice on formulation of food rations, coordination of emergency actors on the ground, emergency food security assessments and analysis of the food requirements during emergencies.
Within the regional Latin America and Caribbean Emergency Response Network (LACERN) initiative, WFP Ecuador has established an Emergency Preparedness Response (EPR) centre on a semi-constructed piece of land provided by the Government of Ecuador with active participation of various national actors. The centre can be used as an alternate situation room and operations base for national emergencies as well as a launch pad for regional emergency operations. The WFP Logistics team in Ecuador has supported regional emergency operations in Cuba, Guatemala, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Panama, Guyana, Peru and Bolivia, among others.