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A CONTINGENT of humanitarian and health workers is expected to arrive at Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) in Dar es Salaam today.
The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) passenger flight will arrive from Addis Ababa.
It is the first of its kind since Tanzania suspended international passenger flights to and from the country as part of efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
The operation of the flight is part of the global UNFPA system to provide logistical support to Covid-19.
WFP Representative in Tanzania, Mr. Michael Dunford, said in a statement that the services ensure that humanitarian organizations are able to provide human resources and the necessary shipping to sustain operations to assist millions of vulnerable people around the world.
“As the main UN logistics agency, WFP has a key role in supporting the Government and the entire humanitarian community in ensuring that supplies and personnel can get where they are needed,” he said.
Upon arrival, staff will follow government guidance that requires all travelers from outside the country to be quarantined for 14 days, to determine if they have been infected with Covid-19 or not.
The WFP chief added: “Our experience in executing logistics operations has enabled WFP to tailor our programs to provide common logistics services to support the global health and humanitarian response.”
According to him, in Tanzania, flights for humanitarian and health workers are expected every week and once the service is fully operational, WFP will maintain flights to key locations around the world.
The airlift system is based at the Global Humanitarian Response Centers in Guangzhou (China), Liege (Belgium) and Dubai (UAE) where the supplies are manufactured.
WFP regional centers are located in Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa, Malaysia, Panama and Dubai.
Flights operate between global and regional hubs, and a fleet of smaller planes moves cargo and humanitarian personnel to specific countries, such as Tanzania.
