Wednesday August 6, 2025
Officials from the World Food Programme and the Somaliland government pose for a group photo during the inauguration ceremony of the Berbera Logistics Hub on August 5, 2025. The facility is expected to accelerate humanitarian aid delivery and regional trade across Eastern Africa. (WFP/Handout)
Hargeisa (HOL) — The United Nations World Food Programme and Somaliland’s government have launched a new logistics hub in Berbera to accelerate humanitarian aid distribution and expand trade routes across Eastern Africa.
The facility, located near the Berbera Port along the Gulf of Aden, is expected to significantly reduce response times for food and relief deliveries to countries affected by conflict and climate shocks, including Somalia, Ethiopia, and South Sudan. It also supports commercial trade, offering benefits to regional businesses and local traders.
“This is a game-changing infrastructure that will enhance our ability to deliver life-saving assistance swiftly and efficiently to millions in need,” said Michael Dunford, WFP’s Regional Director for Eastern Africa, during the launch on Monday.
The Berbera Logistics Hub includes high-capacity warehouses, container yards, temperature-controlled units for perishables, and customs clearance infrastructure. Officials say the new site will improve the speed, accountability, and coordination of emergency logistics operations.
WFP Somalia Country Director El-Khidir Daloum, who attended the launch, praised the opening as a milestone. “The Berbera Logistics Hub strengthens our ability to deliver: faster ops, better oversight, and a more efficient, accountable supply chain,” he said. “Thank you to our government partners and to our WFP team who give their all so food reaches those who need it most,” he wrote on X.
Zlatan Milišić, WFP’s Country Director in Ethiopia, called it “a game changer” that will allow WFP to reach more people across the region. Tatiana Fernandes, a UK development official in Hargeisa, added that the United Kingdom is “proud to have invested in Berbera—an important, strategic corridor to eastern Africa.”
Somaliland’s Minister of Transport and Roads Development, Abdillahi Abokor, said the facility reflects the region’s ambition to become a strategic logistics corridor in the Horn of Africa.
“Berbera’s geographic position makes it ideal for supporting both emergency relief and long-term trade development,” he said.
Stacks of food aid marked “Country of Origin: USA” are stored inside the newly opened Berbera Logistics Hub in Somaliland on August 5, 2025. Operated by the World Food Programme, the facility will serve as a key distribution point for relief shipments to Somalia, Ethiopia, South Sudan and beyond. (WFP/Handout)