Annual report

58
Annual Report 
2022

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The crisis in Ukraine and affected countries 
required a strong response by the department. 
Of a global procurement spend of 53 million 
Swiss francs, the newly established Europe 
Region Logistics Unit accounted for more than 
40 million Swiss francs which allowed provision 
of vital goods and equipment to more than five 
million people in Ukraine and neighbouring coun-
tries. This included the sourcing and delivery 
of hundreds of vehicles, including ambulances, 
search and rescue, trucks, and specialized units. 
Also in 2022, the IFRC increased its sector-wide 
engagement on environmental sustainability 
(such as the Sustainable Supply Chain Alliance 
and the Logistics Cluster-led WREC programme); 
engagement with the sector-wide Fleet Forum 
group, the Logistics Cluster and inter-agency 
procurement groups.
IFRC Global Service Centre
The Global Service Centre located in Budapest, 
Hungary, primarily provides IT support services 
and logistics services to IFRC offices and person-
nel around the world. 
The Global Service Centre supports the network 
in many ways, including but not limited to IT, pro-
curement and supply chain, human resources; 
surge training, DREF, and operational services 
to the IFRC and some National Societies globally. 
Its objective is to contribute to an effective and 
efficient IFRC, while also helping to build stronger 
National Societies, contribute to effective disaster 
management, and influence strategic partners. 
As such, it is an integral part of the IFRC’s support 
to National Societies and plays an important role 
to enable the organization to achieve its goals. It 
has demonstrated that it is a delivery model for 
the effective and efficient delivery of services to 
the organization, employing a team of specialists 
for different functions and leading practices.
The centre also supervises the provision and 
maintenance of shared services to scale up effi-
ciency and effectiveness by looking continuously 
for solutions that will enhance delivery. The IT 
professionals research and identify new areas of 
global services and innovative structures based 
on trend analyses and a deep understanding of 
the capacities and potential of National Societies 
and the IFRC.
The office is also responsible for high-level liaison 
and networking with the Global Service Centre’s 
host government, Hungary, and its diplomatic 
and business communities. 
During 2022, the centre played a pivotal role in 
supporting and enhancing the organization’s IT 
operations. Through a range of critical initiatives, 
the IT unit demonstrated its dedication to user 
support, the contribution to develop interfaces of 
the ERP project, support for rapid staff increases 
in European offices during the Ukraine crisis, and 
effective management of cybersecurity.
During the Ukraine crisis, the centre played a 
vital role in supporting IFRC’s response efforts 
by swiftly accommodating the rapid increase 
in staff in the European offices. They efficiently 
provisioned additional IT and HR resources, 
including hardware, software licences, and 
network infrastructure, ensuring seamless 
connectivity and enabling smooth collaboration 
among the expanded teams. Their proactive 
approach and timely support were instrumental 
in facilitating IFRC’s humanitarian operations in 
response to the crisis.
Regional Offices and delegations
The IFRC has five Regional Offices, each with 
country cluster and country delegations that 
provide direct support to National Societies to 
boost and promote localization.
The IFRC’s Africa Regional Office is in Nairobi, 
Kenya. In the Americas, the Regional Office is 
located in Panama City, Panama. In Asia Pacific, 
the Regional Office is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 
For Europe, the Regional Office is in Budapest, 
Hungary. The Middle East North Africa Regional 
Office is located in Beirut, Lebanon.
The Regional Offices manage the delegations in 
their respective regions. They also ensure strate-
gic and operational coordination at regional level, 
making sure that the right support is provided to 
the National Societies in areas such as capacity