Uber has partnered with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to transport emergency assistance to people in need in urban areas of Ukraine as Russia’s war of aggression rages on.

Using a custom-built version of its ride-hailing app, the collaboration enables the WFB to better coordinate, dispatch and track a fleet of smaller vehicles delivering relief items to people in densely populated areas of Ukraine, WFP said.

The platform enables WFP to get food provisions closer to those in need of support, sending deliveries in various vehicle sizes and tracking each trip to its destination.

Through the collaboration, WFP has already delivered food from its warehouse in Dnipro to other parts of the city, ready for distribution. Further deliveries, which can all be tracked in real-time through the platform, are ongoing in other parts of Ukraine including Lviv, Kyiv, and Chernivsti.

Matthew Hollingworth, WFP’s emergency food coordinator in Ukraine, said: “WFP is playing a critical role in providing food and cash assistance to those most affected by the war in Ukraine. This technology helps WFP facilitate its response and improves how we serve communities in Ukraine that rely on us.

“It enhances our access to Ukrainian businesses within Uber’s network, making our operations more efficient while also harnessing local capacities,” he added.

“Uber is thrilled to be working with WFP to help them more efficiently distribute emergency food relief across Ukraine, by providing free access to a customised version of the Uber platform,” Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive of Uber, said.

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