It charts the ups and downs of aid shipments perhaps (6,3)
I believe the answer is:
relief map
'it charts the ups and downs' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'aid shipments perhaps' is the wordplay.
'aid' becomes 'relief' (relief is a kind of aid).
'shipments perhaps' becomes 'map' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'relief'+'map'='RELIEF-MAP'
'of' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for relief map that I've seen before include "Plan with contours" , "Street plan" , "Geographical chart" , "shady plan" , "I exhibit ups and downs" .)