Supply Chain and COVID-19: UN rushes to move vital equipment to frontlines

As COVID-19 spreads to countries with poor health systems, the United Nations and its partners are racing against time to ensure that life-saving personal protective equipment and other supplies reach frontline health workers in need.

“There are a lot of pieces of a puzzle that have to be put into place at the same time,” said Paul Molinaro, Chief of Operations Support and Logistics at the World Health Organization (WHO), describing the difficulty of moving supplies to countries hardest hit by the virus.

In normal times, WHO fulfills country requests by placing orders through long-term contracts with vendors who ship cargo via freight forwarders. “The COVID-19 pandemic turned the process upside down,” he said.

Disruptions to manufacturing in China fractured global supply chains, creating shortages as demand soared. Commercial flights were grounded, trade restrictions implemented and market competition increased. These challenges created a whole new level of complexity, he explained.