The WCO and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) carried out a second mission of national support in Republic of Guinea under the C-RED Project (Customs for Relief of Epidemic Diseases), funded by the Government of the Netherlands.

The mission, that took place in Conakry from 23-25 October 2017, aimed specifically at finalizing an operational guide on reception of imported humanitarian goods, for the benefit of Customs and humanitarian organizations. The preceding mission took place at the Customs Headquarters in Conakry and resulted in a first draft of the guide. 

The content of the guide is the result of work conducted by a group encompassing several stakeholders involved in the clearance and delivery of relief goods to Guinea, with technical support of mandated experts from WCO and OCHA.

The final version of this guide will be approved and distributed after review and completion by the involved parties. In addition, an action plan with 12 recommendations subject to implementation deadlines was endorsed by the working group.

This mission turned out to be very fruitful and was the opportunity to achieve concrete results in terms of progress of the project and reinforcement of the cooperation between governmental bodies and humanitarian operators in Guinea.

The main goal of the C-RED Project is to assist Customs Authorities of West African countries in being better prepared to clear relief goods, ensuring thus their fast conveyance to the populations affected by a natural disaster or an outbreak of disease. More information about the C-RED project can be found via this link