Vol 48-PREPARING FOR LAUNCH : THE 3RD MEETING OF THE DELSA PHASE 2 PROJECT STEERING COMMITTEE

/ / AHA Centre Diary 1

 PREPARING FOR LAUNCH :
THE 3RD MEETING OF THE DELSA PHASE 2 
PROJECT STEERING COMMITTEE

Singapore was the location for the 3rd Meeting of the Project Steering Committee for the Disaster Emergency Logistics System for ASEAN (DELSA) Phase II project, which took place on the 19th of February, 2019. With the development of two satellite warehouses for DELSA stockpile currently in final stages of development, this meeting would form the primary driving factor to prepare the warehouses for their launching date.

The meeting – co-chaired by Malaysia and Singapore in their roles as Co-Chairs of the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management Working Group on Preparedness and Response – was attended by Project Steering Committee (PSC) members including representatives from the Mission of Japan to ASEAN, the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF) management team, the ASEAN Secretariat, and representatives from the AHA Centre as the DELSA implementing agency. Importantly, representatives from the Philippines and Thailand were also in attendance as the host nations for the two DELSA satellite warehouses.

The central theme for the 3rd DELSA PSC Meeting was to update all parties on the five key action points resulting from the PSC’s 2nd meeting held in 2018. Among the key action points were:

 •  Updates on the renovation progress for both the Philippines and Thailand warehouse.

 •  Development of a stockpile “baseline” to allow interoperability and transfer of relief items between warehouse locations.

New staff were also introduced during the meeting, with the positions of DELSA Logistics Officer for the AHA Centre and National Logistics Officer for the Philippines recently filled. A comprehensive overview of relief item deployment was also delivered to the meeting by the AHA Centre, with significant numbers of varying relief items utilised during 2018 reflecting the scale of response requirements during 2018, as well as the overall value of the DELSA project for ASEAN communities.

Finally, an extensive session was provided to the current status of the satellite warehouse development in both the Philippines and Thailand, as both locations draw closer to their opening dates. The Philippines reported that all renovations had been completed as of the end of January 2019, and highlighted their gratitude to all parties for ensuring the warehouse reached international standards to serve ASEAN Member States in their time of need. The warehouse in Thailand is also moving through the renovation process and is aiming for launch by June 2019. Plans were also discussed and finalised to procure relief items for each of the warehouses, with procurement finalisation set for the end of May 2019. The launch of these satellite warehouses forms not only a great achievement for all parties involved in the project, but also a significant step forward for the ASEAN region, to increase the speed, scale, and solidarity for One ASEAN One Response.

 

Written by : Caroline Widagdo, William Shea | Photo : AHA Centre