UNICEF runs the world’s largest humanitarian warehouse – a global supply hub in Copenhagen, Denmark, that spans over 20,000 m2
From here and other HQs around the world, UNICEF’s supply division procures over $5 billion worth of supplies and services annually – including more than $13 million from Ireland.
This extraordinary logistics chain is all in service of children across the world who are in desperate need. Thanks to this work:
- A starving child in a camp in Sudan will be reached with life-saving food.
- A freezing baby in Ukraine will receive a warm blanket.
- An injured child in Haiti will get immediate medical treatment.
And the key link in this chain, the most important part, is the ordinary UNICEF supporter who clicks onto our website and buys an inspiring gift.
When they purchase one of these gifts, such as a special child survival hamper, they power the work of UNICEF’s supply division. They help send essential supplies that save children’s lives.
Read on to see more about how this life-saving system works – and the extraordinary warehouse at its heart.
From Copenhagen to children everywhere
Supplies are always on their way to children from UNICEF. Their journey starts at the world’s largest humanitarian warehouse, and it ends in the hands of children who need them most.
UNICEF’s huge, semi-automated warehouse in Denmark can store up to 36,000 pallets of supplies like medical kits or thermal blankets.
The facility was a donation from Denmark to UNICEF, and it is automated with robot cranes.
This warehouse is complemented by strategically located global hubs in Brindisi, Dubai and Panama City, as well as a network of over 250 active warehouses around the world, allowing us to work fast during emergencies.
Despite the large capacity, only 5 per cent of what UNICEF delivers around the globe comes through these hubs. Most deliveries are shipped in bulk directly from suppliers, such as life-saving food and vaccines.
UNICEF supply across the globe
Blue dots: global supply hubs.
$136.7 million in supplies were delivered to 121 countries and areas from UNICEF Global Supply Hubs.
Yellow dots: Warehouses.
$709 million in supplies were delivered across 94 countries from 259 active warehouses.
The world’s largest humanitarian warehouse through a child’s eyes
When Carla visited her dad’s workplace at UNICEF Supply Division’s warehouse, she never expected to meet a talking robot and surprise children with toys.
She witnessed firsthand UNICEF’s work packing toys for other children in Mauritania – because every child has a right to play.
UNICEF Kits: fast support when it’s needed most
UNICEF’s pre-packed kits are designed to get essential help to children and families quickly and efficiently.
Whether it’s health supplies, clean water and hygiene items, or materials for learning and protection, these ready-made kits deliver what communities need during emergencies and challenging situations.
Using trusted supplies from around the globe, each kit, funded by our donors across the world, is rapidly assembled in UNICEF’s warehouses and shipped to areas where local resources may be limited or hard to access. The result: families receive essential support right when it matters most.
Can you help deliver life-saving supplies to children?
When you buy one of UNICEF's gifts for a loved-one or a friend, you help deliver real support like desperately-needed warm clothes, clean water, and nutritious food to children in urgent need.