UNHRD 25th Anniversary | UNHRD - Humanitarian Response Depot

UNHRD at 25: How we continue to transform emergency response

The United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) was created in 2000 to help drive global emergency logistics. Launched in Brindisi, Italy, using the forward-thinking "Brindisi Model," UNHRD has matured into a critical asset for humanitarian operations around the globe. Its network of hubs extends to Accra (Ghana), Dubai (UAE), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), and Panama City (Panama).

As we celebrate our 25th anniversary, we are not just reflecting on past achievements—we are responding to the present by prioritizing efficiency, leadership, and system-wide transformation.

Whether responding to sudden-onset disasters or supporting protracted crises, UNHRD makes it easy for partners to deploy assistance – strategically, securely and rapidly – so it can reach the people who need it most.

And UNHRD continues to evolve with the state of the world. By streamlining humanitarian logistics, breaking down operational silos, and innovating new products and solutions, UNHRD brings greater value to donors, UN agencies, NGOs, and governments alike.

From Brindisi to the world: 3 pillars empowering a global network

Pillar 1: Streamlined emergency operations

Expanding on the “Brindisi Model”, UNHRD has become a nerve center for logistics in emergency operations, deploying life-saving supplies to crises around the world.

With UNHRD, partners pre-position essential relief items including medical supplies, emergency shelter kits, communication equipment, cooking tools, and much more. When disaster strikes, humanitarians are then able to respond to any type of emergency, no matter where it happens. The UNHRD hub system also plays a critical role in coordinating emergency airlifts, as well as overland and sea transport.

The “Brindisi Model” has withstood the test of time, bringing efficiency, speed, and cost-effectiveness to humanitarian response during sudden-onset disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes or by sustaining operations for long-term crises.

Pillar 2: Leadership in training for a stronger humanitarian system

Training for faster supply chains, better managed warehouses, coordinated operations and ensuring humanitarian workers have the skills to respond to any emergency scenario: these are some of the aims of UNHRD’s Training Academy in Brindisi.

Through practical exercises and strong collaboration among governments, NGOs, and UN agencies, UNHRD Brindisi is strengthening the humanitarian system. The result is a more agile and coordinated response network that can meet the needs of today’s complex and often layered emergencies.

Pillar 3: Driving sustainable and economically viable innovation

By rethinking humanitarian supply chains and questioning ways of working, the “Brindisi Model” continues to revolutionize emergency response.

With its Innovation Lab, UNHRD Brindisi is leading efforts across the hub network to make humanitarian response more resilient and economically sustainable. Working with partners, UNHRD is optimizing storage solutions, improving the approach to packaging, and introducing solar power to warehouses.

Through research and development efforts, UNHRD Brindisi is also engineering the way to continuous improvement for the entire humanitarian community – for example, by developing standardized products that every organization can use. These cost-saving and creative measures help humanitarian partners allocate more resources where they are needed most: to saving human lives.

Looking Ahead: A unified vision for humanitarian logistics

For 25 years, UNHRD has proven itself as an enabler of humanitarian response. But the next chapter calls for deeper collaboration and innovation. We invite partners, donors, and global stakeholders to join us in advancing a logistics system that works for everyone. Today’s challenges call for even greater efficiency, collaboration, stronger leadership and a sustainable business model. These are the qualities of the UNHRD network and the reason why it is best positioned to bring the humanitarian community together, making it faster, smarter, and better prepared for the next disaster.

Investing in UNHRD means supporting unity, efficiency and innovation in emergency response. Our humanitarian future depends on it.