UNHCR integrates Termez hub in Uzbekistan into global stockpile network

Starting 2025, the regional logistics hub in Termez, Uzbekistan will be part of UNHCR’s global network of humanitarian emergency response stockpiles. As the eighth global stockpile, the move strengthens UNHCR’s capacity to rapidly deliver core relief items to forcibly displaced people around the world and aligns with Uzbekistan’s commitment to supporting humanitarian action.

UNHCR established the regional logistics hub in the Termez Cargo Centre in 2021 with the support of the Government of Uzbekistan and in response to the Afghanistan emergency. The hub was initially a pilot project, testing whether maintaining a stockpile in a country neighboring Afghanistan would enable UNHCR to rapidly replenish local stockpiles and be more agile in its humanitarian response, while reducing costs and risks associated with carrying large inventory in each country affected by the Afghanistan situation. Since then, UNHCR has processed over 7,000 metric tons of urgent humanitarian supplies through the hub, via four airlifts and more than 720 trucks.

The UNHCR stockpile network enables the organization to respond to emergencies across the world, providing essential relief items – including blankets, mattresses, solar lamps and kitchen sets – to up to one million people who have been forced to flee their homes.

“Providing vulnerable refugees and internally displaced people with these core relief items supports their dignity, health, privacy and self-reliance, reducing further protection risks,” says Dumitru Lipcanu, acting UNHCR Representative for Central Asia. “Inclusion of the hub into our global stockpile network will allow us to leverage the services and connections available from Termez even further, to better and more efficiently support people who have been forced to flee their homes.”

The official launch of the UNHCR Global Stockpile Termez was held on 11 February, attended by Special Representative of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Afghanistan, Ismatullah Irgashev; UN Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Indrika Ratwatte; UN Resident Coordinator in Uzbekistan, Sabine Machl; UNHCR Representative for Afghanistan, Arafat Jamal; and acting UNHCR Representative for Central Asia, Dumitru Lipcanu.

“The formal integration of the Termez hub into UNHCR’s global network is evidence of Uzbekistan’s commitment to the principles of multilateralism and reinforces its role as a proactive member of the international community,” said Sabine Machl, the UN Resident Coordinator in Uzbekistan. “Millions of people who have been displaced from their homes or affected by crises are expected to benefit from the vital assistance provided by UNHCR.”

In his speech at the ceremony, Special Representative Irgashev noted that the hub in Termez is a symbol of international cooperation, reliability and efficiency that will not only strengthen the humanitarian supply chain but also contribute to the development of the region by creating new opportunities and jobs.

In 2024, UNHCR completed a first-in-the-world project to solarize the hub, transforming it into an operation powered by clean energy. The 700kW solar photovoltaic powerplant will reduce carbon emissions and result in significant annual electivity savings, which will benefit local energy infrastructure by reducing operating costs and allowing for reinvestment in further sustainable initiatives.

In addition to Termez, UNHCR maintains global stockpiles in Accra, Ghana; Amman, Jordan; Copenhagen, Denmark; Douala, Cameroon; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Nairobi, Kenya; and Panama City, Panama.