Taking the model-experiences from Finland, Norway and UK, sustainable cooperation with private sector is a key to ensure the existence of a certain quantity of supplies by means of pre-contracts.
This was one of the main recommendations in the recent ICDS research about improvement options for civilian food and emergency goods supplies in Estonia that was presented by the authors Ivo Juurvee (ICDS) and Ramon Loik (ICDS), and commented by Mari Hõbemäe (Ministry of Rural Affairs) and Jako Reinaste (Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications) on 18 February 2020 at the ICDS.
Strategic partners from the private sector should be involved in regular training courses and exercises in order to identify shortcomings in the continuity of the system and ensure that the preparedness for crises is real. The organisation of logistics and the involvement of and negotiations with logistics companies is crucial pillar of supply chain, and should be pre-conducted by the government in centrally coordinated way.
The ICDS research team supported necessity to further develop a reasonable state-owned reserve of food for rapid distribution and basic goods necessary in the event of an evacuation. Especially vulnerable groups are inhabitants of apartment buildings in major cities. Evacuation destinations must be defined and pre-prepared, as well as storage points for delivery of supplies must be agreed between the state and local authorities.
Before purchasing emergency supplies, optimal solutions must be also tested and exercised in advance. Importantly, communications must be maintained by the government bodies and municipalities in order to systematically encourage the public to purchase both food and emergency goods so as to be able to cope during longer crises.
Recommendations emphasise that autonomous power supply options should be ensured in major warehouses and retail stores to keep the key industry, major wholesale stocks and stores operational during the period of crises. Hence, the state contribution to electricity generators would certainly be justified.
From the bases of Estonian Civil Protection Concept, the Estonian Ministry of Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications invited the ICDS to study additional options to further improve the civilian supplies’ system including stockpiling, renewal, logistics and related issues to provide basic goods and support the provision of services that protect people`s lives and health in long-term or resource-intensive crisis situations.
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