| What is Suma? | How does SUMA Work? | Who Operates SUMA?

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| The Future of SUMA | More Information |
WHAT IS SUMA ?
The flood of relief supplies that arrive in the aftermath of lare!s"ale disasters often poses serious loisti" and
manaement pro#lems for national authorities$ SUMA is a tool for the manaement of humanitarian relief supplies%
from the time pledes are made #& donors% to their entr& into the disaster area and their storae and distri#ution$
SUMA - a relief SUpply MAnagement system
"an keep authorities and donors informed of e'a"tl& what has #een re"eived(
)ui"kl& identifies and assins priorit& to those supplies that are urentl& needed #& the disaster!affe"ted
population(
offers a tool for inventor& "ontrol on warehousin and distri#ution of supplies$
SUMA #ean as a *AHO+WHO te"hni"al "ooperation pro,e"t in -atin Ameri"a and the .ari##ean in /001$
The o#,e"tive of SUMA was to #uild a "apa"it& in the "ountries to deal effe"tivel& with information on
in"omin relief supplies$ Some 2/11 offi"ers in more than 31 "ountries in the Ameri"as and in other reions
of the world have re"eived trainin$ SUMA has #een implemented in a variet& of #oth natural and "omple'
emeren"ies in this reion$
HOW DOES SUMA WORK?
Information on supplies is "olle"ted at different points of entr& su"h as an airport% seaport% or #order$ The SUMA
team assins a priorit& to ea"h item #ased on how it meets the needs of the disaster vi"tims$ Items are "lassified #&
"ateor&% su#"ateor&% and item$
Other SUMA teams work at warehouses and distri#ution hu#s% manain information on the distri#ution of items
from "entral to peripheral points$
Information athered in the field is forwarded in an ele"troni" format to the "entral level% where the emeren"& is
#ein manaed$ Standard or "ustomi4ed reports "an #e easil& enerated for disaster "oordinators% assistin them to
monitor pledes from donors and identif& aps or dupli"ations$
WHO OPERATES SUMA?
A main o#,e"tive of the SUMA pro,e"t has #een to develop self!relian"e in "ountries% ensurin that the& "an manae
humanitarian assistan"e with their own resour"es$ 5ational SUMA teams are made up of volunteers from the ranks
of national health or relief aen"ies% the .ivil 6efense or armed for"es% Ministries of Forein Affairs% .ustoms
6epartments% 7ed .ross% 58Os% and other orani4ations$
In the immediate aftermath of lare!s"ale disasters% espe"iall& in smaller "ountries% it ma& #e unrealisti" to "ount on
lo"al trained health professionals to sort throuh in"omin medi"al supplies$ Other life!savin priorities will prevail9
This is the time when assistan"e amon neih#ors is #rouht into pla&$ *AHO+WHO provides loisti"al and
te"hni"al support in mo#ili4in SUMA teams from near#& "ountries$
SUMA teams are self!suffi"ient and have re"eived spe"iali4ed trainin whi"h in"ludes:
sortin+identifi"ation of supplies
software operation
use of the SUMA la#ellin s&stem
operational aspe"ts of relief ;radio and satellite "ommuni"ations% use of enerators% et"$<
The SUMA team mem#ers assist affe"ted "ountries in lare!s"ale international disasters$
THE FUTURE OF SUMA
Without the full support of national authorities% inter!institutional assistan"e% and the enthusiasm of those trained in
SUMA% the pro,e"t would not have su""eeded$ SUMA is now the a""epted standard in -atin Ameri"a and the
.ari##ean for relief suppl& manaement% and is #ein in"reasinl& re)uested for disaster manaement outside the
7eion of the Ameri"as$ ='perien"ed SUMA team mem#ers provide trainin lo"all&% in neih#orin "ountries% and
are #ein "alled on to train potential SUMA teams outside of this 7eion$
One of the most important features of SUMA is its fle'i#ilit&$ It "an #e used in man& different emeren"& situations%
lare or small s"ale% and in natural as well as "omple' emeren"& situations$ The development and modifi"ation of
the software has depended on "onstant feed#a"k from national team mem#ers who have used it in a variet& of
disaster situations and trainin sessions$
FOR MORE INFORMATION
The SUMA software is "op&rihted #& the *an Ameri"an Health Orani4ation% #ut distri#uted free of "hare in
=nlish% Spanish and Fren"h$ For information on te"hni"al re)uirements or to o#tain the software and trainin
manuals% please "onta"t:
SUMA Project
*an Ameri"an Health Orani4ation
>2> Twent& Third Street% 5$W$
Washinton% 6. 2113?
fa': ;212< ??>!@>?A
e!mail: sumaBpaho$or