Story from the Field: “The suffering in Sudan is heartbreaking”

After two years of war in Sudan, the humanitarian needs are immense, says Massimo Marghinotti.

He has been deployed as a Logistician by the DRC Standby Roster to UNFPA in Port Sudan since September 2024, working to ensure proper handling and coordination of relief supplies aimed for the women and girls most affected by the war.

Not without bumps on the road, the experienced deployee admits, but worth it all the way.

The war in Sudan has been raging for two years now, causing the world’s current largest humanitarian crisis with millions forced to flee their homes. How would you describe the situation on the ground? 

Massimo: The situation in Sudan is quite intense and tragic. The fighting has spread across various regions, and civilians are caught in the crossfire. We see how bombings and fighting and targeting of civilians lead to severe displacement and famine.

Millions have fled their homes, and they literally have nothing. No shelter, no water, no access to food or basic health. I have been working in this field for more than 25 years and seen a lot, but this humanitarian crisis is severe, and the suffering in Sudan is heartbreaking.  

Your role in the response to this severe crisis is within logistics and supply chain. Could you unpack what is in your role and describe your main tasks? 

Massimo: I am providing logistical and technical support to UNFPA’s sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and gender-based violence (GBV) programs. For example, I am involved in customs clearance of containers and have been working to secure clearance of several containers with SRH kits and medical items.

I am also coordinating warehousing, making sure that we have the necessary storage in place for all the supplies to be distributed. Some items need to be kept between 15 and 25°C, and that can be a challenge in a country like Sudan with high temperatures and big distances to cover.  

You are about to wrap up the deployment which has been for six months in total. What has been your biggest achievement? 

Massimo: Shortly after my arrival, I played a key role in the clearance of more than 60 containers with UNFPA supplies from the port here. This happened after close coordination with colleagues in UNFPA’s Supply Chain unit in Copenhagen, and I am proud of how we managed to get things moving quite fast together. Another great achievement was the coordination of a convoy to Khartoum.

This happened over Christmas, and Khartoum had been inaccessible for over a year. We were informed about the planned convoy only one week ahead of departure and worked fast to coordinate UNFPA’s involvement. In short time, we managed to have medical items added to the convoy for distribution.  

You have been based in Port Sudan. How would you describe Port Sudan as a duty station, and what is important to know before going there on deployment? 

Massimo: Port Sudan is the biggest port of Sudan, and the Transitional Sovereignty Council along with most ministries are now installed here, since they moved from Khartoum, when the conflict erupted in the capital. It’s also the operational headquarters for all humanitarian agencies and INGOs working to support the affected populations.

Since the beginning of the war, many people have fled their homes and they found refuge in town, so it became crowded, with many poor people on the streets. Summertime is coming, which means heat, humidity, flies, mosquitoes. Food and renting an apartment have become difficult, as the humanitarian presence played a role on the huge augmentation of the living costs.

What sort of challenges have you faced during this deployment? 

Massimo: There have been quite a few, to be honest. Sudan is no easy place to maintain an operational and efficient supply chain. First of all, there is a civil war going on, which means that our access to people of concern is very uncertain.

We once dispatched a truck with medical supplies along with a convoy, but due to fighting, the convoy had to stop in a town on the way for two weeks, and in the end, we had to bring back the supplies. The fighting has also severely damaged the infrastructure which was already poor. Sudan is a vast country, almost 2 million square kilometers, and paved roads are scarce. This makes transportation of supplies both difficult and very expensive.

It also means that we might be reluctant to preposition supplies across the country, so when needs occur somewhere, we have to send most supplies all the way from Port Sudan instead of having the supplies ready for dispatch and distribution in a nearby warehouse or storage unit. Despite the challenging circumstances, we strive to deliver essential supplies to those in need. 

It is soon time for you to end the deployment and leave Sudan for now. Reflecting on the past six months, which lessons learned do you bring with you?  

Massimo: This is not the first time for me to work in Sudan. I was here for three years between 2005 and 2007 and gained a deep understanding back then of the Sudanese culture. Now, I have been working in this sector for 25 years, but the good thing is that you never stop learning.

My current deployment has been a great opportunity for me to develop my interpersonal and coordination skills as my work has involved close coordination with many colleagues and partners to get things moving. Humanitarian logistics is a very wide domain, and this deployment, considering all circumstances, provided me with another milestone on my professional and personal career. 

It has obviously been a deployment full of challenges. Has it been worth it? 

Massimo: Absolutely. Every deployment enriches you as a person and as a professional. My goal is to help and support people in need, and I feel that we have indeed accomplished this and helped many people during my past six months here. I am grateful I had the chance to bring my skills and experience for the wellbeing of the affected population.