Peru is a country with a unique and significant risk factor in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) – it is ranked the third highest-risk country in terms of major earthquake exposure worldwide and the thirteenth on the World Risk Index. The capital, Lima, situated on the Pacific coast of South America, has not experienced a major earthquake since 1746. Today, emergency responders in the country, whether government or humanitarian sector, are highly threatened by a potential 8.8 magnitude earthquake in the metropolitan region. Given these circumstances, emergency preparedness has become a crucial priority for Peru.
In July 2023, the Logistics Cluster officially activated the Field-Based Preparedness Project (FBPP) in close collaboration with the National Institute of Civil Defense of Peru (INDECI), the National Disaster Management Agency. The primary objective of this project is to strengthen the country's supply chain and logistics capacities and enhance inter-agency collaboration to ensure an effective response to emergencies.
Key to understanding the objectives of the FBPP is a video featuring the voices of key actors in Peruvian logistics and supply chain management.
Each entity brings experiences gained from their participation in previous emergencies. Ana Luzia Barriga, Logistics Coordinator for the Peruvian Red Cross, emphasizes the critical importance of logistics coordination before and during emergencies. The COVID-19 pandemic, in particular:
"These two years of [COVID-19] pandemic have been full of challenges at a logistical level. It taught us that we must be prepared to face a disaster".
The pandemic underscored the humanitarian logistics needs in Latin America and the Caribbean. Despite having robust logistics capacities in most countries, a lack of coordination among actors, along with limited knowledge about international humanitarian mechanisms and interagency collaborations, was identified as a significant challenge by national stakeholders.
The Field Based Preparedness Project aims to strengthen national humanitarian logistics by empowering national responders and fostering partnerships and long-term collaborative approaches. Through dedicated in-country support, the project will enhance local capacities, optimize time and resources, and establish standard operating procedures for emergency preparedness and response.
The project approach is rooted in localizing and strengthening capacity, as it is part of a broader regional strategy that encompasses other countries in the LAC region, such as Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras.
The Logistics Work Group will resume in November to strengthen coordination between the national humanitarian logistics network. Missions in the most at-risk regions of Peru are planned before the end of the year, to identify the capacities and gaps of the main actors present. A National Preparedness Workshop is scheduled for the second half of January, where the main objective will be to identify and agree on the most critical gaps and challenges logistics stakeholders face in Peru and endorse together an Action Plan with mitigation measures.
For more information about the project in Peru, please visit the Peru | Logistics Cluster Website (logcluster.org).