Media Advisory
New
York Conference in June
Aims to Identify More Suppliers
New York, 21 May 2001 - The surge in conflicts, natural and man-made disasters and refugee movements over the last decade has created an unprecedented need for goods and services for relief and development efforts, according to the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).
Emergency relief agencies spend millions of dollars each year on everything from tents and food to medicines and health care. In 1999, for example, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees purchased more than US$110 million in goods and services for its activities worldwide.
UNOPS, over the last five years, has managed rehabilitation and development programmes valued at more than $300 million in countries such as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Somalia and Tajikistan.
To help suppliers of relief supplies find customers in the United Nations and non-governmental organizations, UNOPS is co-hosting a trade show and business seminars designed to match suppliers with buyers in the international community.
"When a crisis occurs, the United Nations and other assistance organizations need to find what they need fast," according to Joseph Kelly of the UNOPS Division for Legal and Procurement Support. "One of the goals of the International Aid and Trade conference is to identify new suppliers of tents or food or medicine who can deliver the goods on short order."
UNOPS is an arm of the United Nations that provides project-management services in every field where the UN has a mandate. Upon request, UNOPS will manage relief, reconstruction and development projects from start to finish or provide ad hoc services, as needed. These services include selecting and hiring project personnel, procuring goods, organizing training, managing financial resources and administering loans.
Journalists are invited to International Aid and Trade 2001. To request a free pass or for more information, contact Christian Gladel at UNOPS: +1 212 457-1266; e-mail: christiang@unops.org, or Richard Kollodge at +1 212 457-1087; e-mail: richardk@unops.org.