Security professionals meet to discuss logistics constraints

Europa 15:23 - 12 April 2016

___4911645___https:______static.pulse.com.gh___webservice___escenic___binary___4911645___2016___4___12___17___2c64a262-0dcf-45ee-876a-7d34d00bc46a

The Africa Logistics Forum, hosted by the African Union Peace Support Operations Division seeks to improve national and multinational logistical preparedness for humanitarian assistance and disaster management response.

Over 100 senior security sector professionals, representing at least 30 African countries, have gathered in Accra in a bid to solve logistics challenges in Africas security sector.

In light of challenges on the continent, including terror attacks, deadly diseases, refugees fleeing violence, and other extremists attacks, it has become important for nations in Africa to find ways to move across the continent quickly with the right equipment, the forum organisers said.

In Africa, some of the logistical constraints have been transportation, freight costs, limited services and infrastructure.

Speaking at the forum, US Ambassador to Ghana Robert Jackson said "It is imperative to have experienced personnel with the right equipment and training if we are to overcome the logistical obstacles we face in garrison, operational or tactical environments."

He expressed the United States' readiness to support Ghana's peacekeeping operations support.

"Our Ghanaian partners have been a major contributor to the United Nations peacekeeping operations, supplying more than 3,000 personnel, including police, military observers and troops in the past eight years. The United States is pleased to support these operations by providing essential training exercises. Exercises - such as the Logistics Peacekeeping Operations and the African Deployment Assistance Partnership Team conducted in Ghana, Togo and Benin in the last two years - have been essential for training logistical units and personnel," he added.

On his part, Dr. Jide Martyns Okeke, Head, Policy Development Unit, Peace Support Operations, said Africa must "adapt systems and processes in line with contemporary security threats."

He said the best way to defeat terror attacks on the continent is to deploy troops with specific capabilities, employ partnership peacekeeping, and mobilise resources from within the continent.

Other participants in the Africa Logistics Forum (ALF) 2016, were senior officials, both civilian and uniformed, with experience and expertise in strategic planning, policy development, logistics and resource management, multinational operations and regional initiatives.

The two-day seminar is being held at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Accra.