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CANADEM's Humanitarian Response in Afghanistan

~ Supplying Dignity ~
 

Emile Padja in Afghanistan with UNFPA
Logistician

The offer for Afghanistan was made to me in December 2021, 4 months after the Taliban took power in August 2021. I had questions, apprehensions, and hesitation.  In fact, few readings confirmed the gravity of the security situation, as they did confirm the gravity of the humanitarian situation; one of the worst in the world.

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Weighing in, my family and I concluded that while the security risk can be managed under some rules and common sense, the humanitarian assistance needs personnel on the ground. So, I accepted the offer and arrived in Kabul in February 2022, in the middle of winter. 

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As Logistics and Supply Chain officer from CANADEM, my role was to oversee the supply of different types of medical and non-medical supplies from the supplier’s warehouse around the world all the way to the beneficiaries or implementing partners in Afghanistan. This role includes the Supply planning, the requisition management, the shipping and custom-clearance, the warehouse management and the transport and distribution.
 

I am particularly proud to have contributed to making available for women and girls Winter kits, Dignity kits and Reproductive health kits.

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During my deployment, Afghanistan witnessed its worst winters in decades, with temperatures plunged below 30 degrees Celsius. Surviving the winter were challenging, as a healing system does not exist, and 10% of the population is displaced, most of it leaving under shelter. Winter kits help keep warm.

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Emile with his Afghan colleagues in the warehouse
Reproductive Health Kits ready for distribution

The Reproductive Health Kits provide the supplies needed to implement reproductive health in emergency situations. They include Family Planning items, drugs and equipment for Individual delivery, post rape treatment, treatment of STI, blood transmission.

Afghani woman and her child receiving dignity kits
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