PIRAC has undertaken to build and equip a regional humanitarian warehouse in Guadeloupe. This will enable the pre-positioning of a stock of essential goods and humanitarian equipment which, when integrated into a network of emergency actors, will strengthen disaster preparedness and response capacities in the Caribbean region. Construction starts in December 2023 and will continue throughout 2024.

A regional humanitarian warehouse in Guadeloupe… what for? 

The Caribbean region is exposed to numerous natural hazards: earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, etc… In a context of intensification and multiplication of certain hazards due to climate change, emergency operators need to step up disaster preparedness in order to limit the impact, particularly on the most vulnerable.

Indeed, the impacts of climate change are exacerbated by the region’s geographical context, as it is made up of island states, which is a real challenge when it comes to transporting essential goods in the event of a disaster. It is therefore essential to strengthen storage capacities and pre-position stocks as close as possible to communities. This new regional humanitarian warehouse will increase PIRAC’s storage capacity by 4 and to respond more effectively to the growing needs of the coming years.

Features of the new warehouse

Located in the airport zone, the new warehouse is being carried out in collaboration with Guadeloupe Pôle Caraïbes airport. With a surface area of 790m², several types of emergency humanitarian supplies will be pre-positionned for the equivalent of 4,000 families:

• Basic necessities (kitchen kits, cleaning kits, etc.).
• Emergency shelter construction kits;)
• Hygiene kits;
• Health crisis response equipment (mosquito nets, etc.);
• Mobile drinking water production units l
• Home water treatment and storage equipment (filters, disinfectant tablets, buckets, jerrycans, etc.).

This project integrates an environmental ambition on several levels: firstly, through the control of its energy consumption (insulation, solar hot water, natural ventilation, low consumption equipment), and energy production with the installation of a photovoltaic power plant covering the needs of the structure.

A “humanitarian hub” mode of operation

The warehouse will also be available to a number of emergency actors to pre-position their equipment for a rapid deployment in the event of a disaster. This is a way of pooling forces and ensuring the most appropriate, coordinated and rapid response in the event of need throughout the region.

The construction of the regional humanitarian warehouse is part of the READY Together program co-financed by the INTERREG Caribbean program, the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the Guadeloupe Region. This Ready Together program is also part of the 3 Oceans project, financed by the AFD and collectively supported by all the French Red Cross Regional Intervention Platforms (PIR).