May 23, 2016: United Nations and Deutsche Post DHL Group showcase how public-private partnerships make a difference in humanitarian action

Deutsche Post DHL Group and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) have issued a publication - Combining Capabilities - which showcases the growing importance of public-private partnerships in humanitarian action. The publication, launched during the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, illustrates a variety of innovative and effective case studies. It demonstrates that public-private partnerships are essential for addressing humanitarian needs in today's world. It also sheds light on how such partnerships work in practice, what challenges exist, and what makes them successful in the long run.

'The world does not lack the capabilities to tackle global challenges, but it often lacks the vision to forge alliances to make the best use of our individual strengths. Combining our capabilities enhances the potential to solve many problems,' said Frank Appel, Chief Executive Officer at Deutsche Post DHL Group. 'The World Humanitarian Summit is taking place at a time when the world is facing a number of critical challenges. Public-private partnerships represent an effective, forward-looking model to sustainably solve them. Our publication offers practical guidance for organizations looking to leverage their services and resources through collaboration that delivers social value.'

'As the number and impact of disasters and complex emergency situations continue to grow, humanitarian organizations cannot go it alone - a concerted international response is needed,' said Kyung-wha Kang, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator. 'Working with partners such as Deutsche Post DHL Group improves the speed, quality and effectiveness of our response to people in need. Together we can build local, national and regional capacity to prepare for disasters and to mitigate risks.'

Beyond profiling Deutsche Post DHL Group's own expertise, experience and learnings from ten years of successful GoHelpcollaboration with the United Nations, the report showcases many other successful partnership models in place all over the world. Global players such as Ericsson and MasterCard and 'local heroes' such as Madagascar's Telma Foundation which contributed to the publication share their stories and provide insight into how such partnerships work in practice.

Success factors for partnerships include agreement on common guiding principles, the leveraging of core competencies, building local capacity, establishing a clear separation between humanitarian and commercial activities, and developing predictable, long-term partnerships, all geared to meet identified needs. The publication highlights that partnerships between humanitarian actors and private sector companies should be developed with the shared goal of alleviating human suffering and providing quality assistance to those most in need. It will also help increase awareness and understanding of the critical role of private sector partnerships in life-saving humanitarian action.

The partnership between the United Nations and Deutsche Post DHL Group

Over ten years ago, Deutsche Post DHL Group joined forces with the UN to help improve disaster management. In collaboration with OCHA, the Group deploys Disaster Response Teams (DRTs) to provide on-site logistics support at affected airports in the wake of a natural disaster. Together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the company also runs the Get Airports Ready for Disaster (GARD) program, which helps to prepare airports in areas at risk of natural catastrophes. Known collectively as the GoHelp program, both initiatives demonstrate the power of public-private partnerships with a clear focus, long-term approach and successful track record. They showcase how the combination of very different capabilities and strengths can be an essential asset for emergency preparedness and response.