Red Cross Red Crescent trucks arrive in southern Africa
23 August 2002

The vessel carrying the trucking fleet for one of the largest food transport operations ever carried out by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, arrived in the South African port of Durban early Friday 23 August.

The 231 trucks, long-haul trucks, land cruisers, fuel tankers and mobile repair workshops have been donated by the Norwegian government and Norwegian Red Cross in response to the International Federation's appeal for US$ 62 million to provide assistance to those made most vulnerable by the food crisis in Southern Africa.

In partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP), the Red Cross Red Crescent trucking fleet will provide transport of WFP food not only for Red Cross distributions, but also for other organisations responding to the emergency threatening 13 million people in the region. Together, the International Federation and WFP are maximising the use of available resources and increasing both agencies' capacity to respond to the food crisis. The fleet includes 203 M6 trucks - each capable of transporting 5 metric tonnes and able to reach communities in remote, difficult-to-access rural areas, as they will be able to travel off-road. The food fleet also consists of 10 long-haul trucks that will be able to transport 400 tonnes of food at each rotation.

The trucking fleet will remain in Durban for some days to undergo clearance, registration, fitting with radio equipment etc. The goal is to have the trucks fully deployed by early September.

"We are going all out to make sure that we have all the logistics and staffing in place to prevent large-scale deaths, but the Red Cross Red Crescent and WFP both desperately need donors to respond much more quickly, in order to get enough food for the immediate months ahead," says the International Federation's disaster operations manager, Iain Logan.

Support has been rendered to the operation by the shipping company Hual, which has transported the food fleet from Norway to Durban free of charge. The vessel "Hual Europe" left Norway on 31 July. The port authorities of Durban too, are handling the arrival of the food fleet at greatly reduced fees.

More information on the International Federation's food crisis operation in Southern Africa is available on a special focus page. Digital photographs can be obtained by contacting av@ifrc.org. WFP information is available on www.wfprelogs.org

For further information, or to set up interviews, please contact:

In southern Africa
Grethe Østern, Press Officer, International Federation Tel: + 2711 236 33 60 / + 2772 18 78 855

In Geneva
Denis McClean, Head, Media Service Tel: + 41 22 730 44 28 / + 41 79 217 3357

The Geneva-based International Federation promotes the humanitarian activities of 181 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies among vulnerable people. By coordinating international disaster relief and encouraging development support, it seeks to prevent and alleviate human suffering. The Federation, National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross together, constitute the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.