BASEL: December 06, 2018. Panalpina has donated its sixth humanitarian aid flight on behalf of UNICEF and its second in support of the agency’s work helping millions of children recover from the civil war in South Sudan.

Panalpina chartered an MD-11 freighter that left Liège, Belgium on December 05 and it arrived in Entebbe, Uganda in the middle of the night on December 06. The aircraft carried 70 tons of supplies and emergency health kits for delivery by truck to South Sudan as the country's dry season begins.

The kits ensure a fast, reliable and affordable supply of essential medicines for 50,000 people for three months and also address the need of children for psychosocial treatment in emergency situations.

“The peace agreement signed in August 2018 gives us hope that children in South Sudan can be children once again and look forward to a better future,” commented UNICEF South Sudan communications chief Tim Irwin. “But the years of conflict have come at an enormous cost and the humanitarian needs remain massive.”

According to the US Council on Foreign Relations, the civil war in South Sudan that began in December 2013 has resulted in 50,000 deaths, 2.47 million refugees and 4.4 million people, or 40 percent of the entire population, suffering from food insecurity.

“Panalpina's commitment is unparalleled,” commented Hans Kuenzle, president of UNICEF Switzerland and Liechtenstein. “To even come close to covering the enormous demand for life-saving aid in the world’s crisis regions, we rely on the generous support from companies such as Panalpina that transport these goods free of charge.”

Pictured: UNICEF, together with the World Food Programme, have developed the 'Integrated Rapid Response Mechanism' - an airborne aid operation that has operated hundreds of helicopter missions in South Sudan to provide aid for millions of people since 2013.

In an unrelated announcement, LATAM Cargo has begun a weekly B767 freighter flight from Bogotá to Huntsville, AL in support of Panalpina’s perishables business. Carrying 50 tons per flight, the new service reduces distribution time by avoiding flying to Miami. "The new route marks an important milestone as we continuously expand our charter network and the perishables network," said Roberto Schiavone, Panalpina's regional head of Air Freight Americas.