Copyright: WFP/Sangay T Dorji

Overview
Bhutan is a small, less developed, food-deficit country with a population of some 670,000.  Close to one-fourth of the population falls below the national poverty line and suffers from temporary food insecurity, especially during the months before harvest. Since it is prone to natural disasters, such as flash floods and landslides, roads in some areas may be closed for up to half a year, mainly during the rainy season. For its logistics activities, WFP Bhutan works closely with the Food Corporation of Bhutan (FCB), a para-statal organisation, which is responsible for the receipt, central storage, handling, transportation and delivery of WFP commodities, under WFP’s supervision and coordination.

Team
The WFP Logistics team in Bhutan consists of 2 staff.

Activities
Port Operations
Bhutan is a landlocked country and has no port operations. Most food commodities are purchased from the local market. All international purchases or in-kind shipments are received at the port of Calcutta in India and then transported to Bhutan via road.

Storage
The FCB has a wide network of warehouses and transit stores all over the country, but the three main hubs serving WFP are Phuentsholing, Gelephu and Samdrup Jongkhar.

Surface Transport
From the hubs, food commodities are transported by the FCB via road to the feeding centres or schools. However, about 70% of the schools partaking in the programme are not accessible by road. To reach these, FCB transports the food to so-called extended delivery points (EDPs). The regional government, through its District Education Officers, then takes charge of the commodities and are entirely responsible for storage and payment of transportation charges through District Education Officers. From the EDPs to the remote schools, food is transported either by carriers or by using horses, mules and yaks.

Air Operations
There are no air operations in Bhutan.

WFP Logistics Service Provision
WFP Logistics is currently not providing services to other organisations operating in Bhutan.
 

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