The United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP) has given Jamaica a helping hand in beefing up its web-based logistics mapping system at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.

The UNWFP recently donated inventory equipment valued at over $1.2 million to the ministry consisting of a laptop, printer, monitor, tablet with barcode reader capabilities, a portable barcode printer and two smartphones with barcode reader.

The set of equipment was presented to Colette Roberts Risden, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, by Sara Netzer, programme policy officer at the UNWFP Jamaican Office, and Jean-Paul Laveau, supply chain officer.

The items will be used to support the operation of a web-based logistics mapping system that was developed by the World Food Programme and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency.

In addition to the donation, the UNWFP will also be training the staff of the Ministry’s Central Food Warehouse how to utilise the equipment, which will provide greater efficiency, visibility and accountability of the Ministry’s Warehouse Inventory System.

Roberts Risden welcomed the acquisition of the equipment as a timely intervention. She said the items would significantly improve accountability and enhance a smooth operation at the large inventory warehouse.