A DISASTER response facility near Cirencester is playing a central role as Britain scales up its response in Ethiopia, providing lifesaving support to thousands of families following severe flooding.
The UK aid international disaster response facility in Kemble, first opened by the Government’s Department for International Development (DFID) in 2012, ships a range of cutting-edge products that ensure UK aid gets to wherever it’s needed if and when disaster strikes.
Emergency humanitarian supplies, including shelter kits, blankets, kitchen sets, clean water devices and other equipment, all shipped from the Kemble operational hub, have already started arriving in Ethiopia to help 150,000 people in immediate need cope with the aftermath of recent intense flooding.
Steve Mottram, warehouse manager at the Cotswold facility, said: “We are a purpose-built warehouse, filled out with NFI – non-food items – and once we get the greenlight from central office my team will transport the goods from the front end hangar to the aircraft.
“Everything can be done at a moment’s notice, we are a 24-hour facility and aim to respond in the quickest amount of time possible.”
He said: “Kemble is the only facility of its kind in the UK; it’s strategically placed here because of its access to a number of airports we use. There are other facilities like this around the world, however, which helps with our global efforts,” he added.
Mr Mottram has worked at the facility for more than three years, having taken up his current position around nine months ago. He said in that time he saw how the facility dealt with the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
“Of course, Ebola was a much bigger response,” he said. “But each one is as important as another, there’s no competition. At the end of the day, it’s people’s lives.”
Extensive spring rains have come at a time when Ethiopia is experiencing its worst drought in 30 years, which has already left 18 million people in urgent need of relief.
The UK is the second largest bilateral humanitarian donor in Ethiopia, having provided £145 million since July 2015.
The package of £3.5 million in new support is bridging a gap in supplies of shelter kits for those in need of immediate help.
A DFID spokesperson said: “Ethiopia has developed rapidly over the past 30 years but it remains at risk of drought and people are now faced with severe flooding after the country’s worst drought in decades.
“This UK support, alongside Ethiopian Government support, will make sure the most vulnerable families get the emergency shelter, clean water and cooking equipment which they so desperately need to survive.
“A stable, more prosperous Africa is firmly in our interest. That’s why Britain is leading the way in helping countries prepare for, and cope with, the devastating effects of El Niño, which has seen millions going without food and hundreds of thousands losing their homes.”
Source: wiltsglosstandard.co.uk
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