The UN Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) network is run by WFP, but serves the broader humanitarian community as well as WFP. It is known primarily for its pre-positioning, storage and handling of emergency supplies and support equipment. The network consists of five strategically placed hubs, located in Ghana, UAE, Malaysia, Panama and Italy. 

UNHRD has established its hubs near disaster-prone areas, within airport complexes, close to ports and the main national/international roads. Because of this pro-active positioning, when emergencies strike, relief items can be delivered to the affected areas anywhere in the world within 24 to 48 hours.

As well as coordinating WFP operations, UNHRD coordinates cohesive responses to emergencies for the entire humanitarian community, including UN agencies, international humanitarian organizations, and governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The hubs store relief items on behalf of clients.

UNHRD provides two types of services:

Standard services: Warehousing and storage are considered standard UNHRD services and are provided to the humanitarian community free of charge.

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Specific services: Procurement of items for other agencies as well as transport of the items from the UNHRD hubs to the field, handling, customs import and export processes, technical field assistance, repackaging and kitting are considered specific services. They are offered on a full cost recovery basis plus a 4.5 percent management recovery cost.

All UNHRD hubs also provide training center facilities. The Brindisi (Italy) hub has been certified as a Center of Excellence for Training in Logistics.