HUMANITARIAN LOGISTICS

Mohamed SamehIhab Mohamed tarekSalah Gamal AzamMarwan El-GhoniemyMohamed AbdallahDr. Ahmed

tarek

INTRODUCTION HUMANITARIAN LOGISTICSHumanitarian organizations can include government agencies such as United States Agency for International Development (USAID)the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), multilateral agencies such as the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)the World Food Program (WFP), non-government organizations (NGOs) such as Save the Children and Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)members of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Humanitarian organizations usually include logistic units which can have different functions depending on the organizations or even the disaster and can include:ProcurementWarehousingFleet ManagementTransportation (of both supplies and people)Asset ManagementBuilding ManagementSecurityInformation Technology (IT)Radio Communications

HUMANITARIAN SUPPLY CHAINS humanitarian supply chain refers to the network created through the flow of supplies, services, finances and information between donors, beneficiaries, suppliers and different units of humanitarian organizations for the purpose of providing physical aid to beneficiaries

Humanitarian supply chains include functionalities which do not typically fall into the field of humanitarian logistics. Managing relationships with donors, performing needs assessments, planning for supplies required and monitoring and evaluating the impact of distributed supplies, are usually the responsibility of non-logistics program units.

Figure 1 presents a summary of the major flows within both humanitarian supply chains and humanitarian logistics.

INTEGRATING LOGISTICS INTO SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT the core business of humanitarian organizations tend towards health, education, protection and economic development.

Humanitarian supply chains include units implementing programs, managing grants with donors, controlling budgets and monitoring activities which must coordinate with logistics units.

Humanitarian logistics information systems can improve the flow of information with other units, in a mutually constructive manner, improving the effectiveness of the humanitarian supply chain.

HUMANITARIAN LOGISTICS INFORMATION SYSTEMSEnhance needs assessments by ensuring the field staff know what supplies are available for beneficiaries, either in local warehouses, pre-positioned emergency stocks . from local and international markets.Share lists of supplies available, in both local and international markets, including prices and lead times.informing program staff to procurement activities, that’s help to develop an understanding of the constraints within logistics and create trust.Provide budget holder more accurate financial information. to avoid the over or under spending of budgets.Provide warehouse inventory ,allow them to take more responsibility for their supplies, and ensure that they are utilized effectively.Share information on the distribution of supplies, to allow staff to better monitor and evaluate activities and avoid the need for duplication.

THE DISASTER MANAGEMENT CYCLE

PREPAREDNESS The preparedness phase involves building the capacity to respond to a disaster, such as (working with communities to ensure they know evacuation options, pre-positioning emergency response supplies and building organizational capacity to respond to disasters)

Pre-positioned emergency response supplies tend to be less varied, as they are specific life supporting items, such as ((food, medical supplies, water and sanitation equipment, shelter, household kits, etc.…)).

80% of the disaster response phase consists of logistics activities in the preparedness phase.

RESPONSE The response phase occurs immediately after the disaster, and activities are focused primarily on saving lives and preventing further damage.

Humanitarian operations: they distribute food, medical supplies and other necessities of life to affected populations, and lives will be dependent on the speed of logistics activities.

The response phase may last from days to months, depending on the scale of the disaster.

TRANSITION During the transition phase NGOs begin to look at providing ongoing assistance, such as temporary shelter and revitalizing basic social services.

NGOs will also plan strategically to transition from implementing response activities to longer term recovery and mitigation programs.

Logistics activities: such as identifying suppliers to in either local or international markets to provide supplies for longer term programs, ensure a smooth transition.

RECOVERY The recovery phase involves aiding communities to return to their conditions prior to the disaster.

These activities include: training people and distributing supplies for livelihood, building reconstructing houses and infrastructure.

The recovery phase represents a significant proportion of the duration and funding of a humanitarian operation and may last from 5-10 years.

MITIGATION involves increasing the resilience of communities to natural hazards to reduce the impact of disasters.

these activities include: planting mangroves to protect coastlines against cyclones, constructing dams and reinforcing buildings.

TABLE 1: SNAPSHOT OF SELECT HUMANITARIAN ORGANIZATIONS

THE SCOPE AND IMPORTANCE OF HUMANITARIAN

Logistics Humanitarian Logistics refers to the processes and systems involved in mobilizing people, resources, skill sand knowledge to help vulnerable people affected by natural disasters and complex emergencies. Humanitarian logistics encompasses a range of activities, including procurement, transport, tracking and tracing, customs clearance, local transportation, warehousing and last mile delivery.

Figure 1. The Supply Chain for Humanitarian Relief

HUMANITARIAN ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR MISSIONS Natural disasters, which include events such as earthquakes, floods, result in the temporary displacement of approximately five million people

The humanitarian organizations receiving donations from this global community include entities operating under the United Nations umbrella such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), international organizations such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and global non-governmental organizations (NGOs) like CARE and World Vision, as well as regional and country-specific NGOs.

HUMANITARIAN LOGISTICS: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES the conditions under which a humanitarian organization’s staff must work are extremely chaotic.

Physical infrastructure such as roads, bridges and airports are often destroyed.

National and local government, through which humanitarian organizations must often coordinate their activities, may be severely impacted, or even uprooted in the case of a conflict situation.

MAJOR ACTIVITIES WITHIN A DISASTER RESPONSE OPERATION

PAIN POINTS The first of these is the nature of the funding process. Donor scrutiny over the usage of funds concern that contributions flow directly through to beneficiaries combined with earmarking of donations for particular relief operations, drives HROs to focus on direct relief rather than investing in systems and processes that will reduce expenses or make relief more effective over the long-term. Thus, operational disaster response approaches are encouraged by the funding mechanism and strategic disaster preparedness opportunities are discouraged. This results in an underinvestment in infrastructure such as information systems and warehousing facilities.

Organizational culture and high employee turnover humanitarian organizations are defined by their personnel, who share a common value system relating to the alleviation of suffering of victims of disasters and humanitarian emergencies. People who choose a career in this world come from diverse and varied backgrounds. sample of head logisticians included an actor, nurse and a country manager. These people are driven by a desire to resolve crises and do good in the world; neither their backgrounds nor their values are geared toward process improvement.

The organizational culture and high employee turnover create an environment in which there is a lack of institutional learning.

With the emerging competition for funding among major relief organizations, the heads of logistics tend to each fight their own battles with little collaboration. Although many of them face the same challenges and know each other, they do not often meet or talk to one another except in an actual disaster. For example, we found that several of them were thinking of deploying a regional warehouse structure for faster response.

THE PATH FORWARD: MAKING LOGISTICS STRATEGICEstablishing a community of practice will enable humanitarian logisticians to share knowledge and experience on common issues and to work together to create one voice with donors and partners.Formalizing knowledge management will overcome, to some extent, the lack of institutional knowledge that occurs because of high employee turnover by capturing and disseminating knowledge in an organized way.Developing flexible technology solutions will improve responsiveness by creating visibility of the materials pipeline and increasing the effectiveness of people and processes.Focusing on metrics, performance measurement and learning capabilities will empower logisticians to continuously improve the effectiveness of relief operations and to create the powerful story that is needed to overcome funding constraints to convince donors that investing general funds in disaster preparedness is a wise use of funds and will have greater impact at less cost than funding a narrower range of activities.Effective use of voice will enable logisticians to create awareness of the contribution that logistics makes and to obtain needed resources.

FIGURE 1. HUMANITARIAN SECTOR FUNDING FLOWS

HUMANITARIAN LOGISTICS: CORE CHALLENGES Lack of Recognition of the Importance of Logistics: Most humanitarian organizations have two broad categories of activities: programs and support services.Lack of Professional.Inadequate Use of TechnologyLack of Institutional LearningLimited Collaboration

THE PATH FORWARD This section details five strategies we recommend for moving forward to improve humanitarian logistics:

1. Creating a professional logistics community.2. Investing in standardized training and certification.3. Focusing on metrics and performance measurement4. Communicating the strategic importance of logistics5. Developing flexible technology solutions

CASE STUDY OF ZIMBABWEAN INTRODUCTION When humanitarian disasters occur, organisations respond by delivering aid to people in need. Their supply chains need to be both fast and agile, responding to sudden-onset disasters, which may occur in cities or in far places like rural areas in a developing country.

It involves organizational components such as procurement, transportation, warehousing, inventory management, tracking and tracing, bidding and reverse bidding, reporting and accountability to address emergency needs.

AS DESCRIBED BY THE UNITED NATIONS JOINT LOGISTICS CENTRE (UNJLC), HUMANITARIAN LOGISTICS DURING EMERGENCIES REQUIRESdelivery of the appropriate supplies in good condition, when and where they are neededa wide range of transport, often improvised at the local levellimited, rapid, and specific deliveries from outside the area affecteda system of prioritising various relief inputsstoring, staging, and moving bulk commoditiesmoving peopleThe main factors in the operating environment which shape the response to humanitarian crises are:capacity of the infrastructureavailability and quantity of transport assets in the countrypolitics of the situationcivil conflict in the area of operations (UNJLC, 2008).

HUMANITARIAN LOGISTICS AT THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME IN ZIMBABWE Humanitarian logistics is very important for the World Food Programme (WFP) because lives depend on it. It is one of the world’s largest humanitarian aid organisations and the United Nations’ largest frontline relief agency.

GENERAL WFP OPERATIONS WORLDWIDE AND IN ZIMBABWE WFP logistics has over 2 000 employees worldwide and its supply chain begins by procuring privately or by receiving aid from government and donors. The cargo is shipped using trucks, helicopters, scotch carts and even animals such as elephants and donkeys among many other modes.

PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES FACED BY WFP ZIMBABWE Distribution of food aid (maize, maize meal, peanuts and cooking oil) in Zimbabwe is affected by a number of factors that include the nature of existing roads, dust roads or gravel roads and their condition. The road condition varies seasonally and yearly especially after the rainy season.

HUMANITARIAN LOGISTICS AT ZIMBABWE RED CROSS SOCIETY The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is regarded as being the world’s largest humanitarian organisation, with 186 member national societies. The organisation is guided by the seven fundamental principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality (IFRC, 2010).

PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES FACED BY THE ZRCSThe Society faces several problems and challenges in both its operational programmes and logistical operations as follows: The rapid increase of beneficiaries in the communities has resulted in increased pressure on the Society. Extra funds need to be sourced to cater for the growth and these are sometimes unavailable.

There is an increase of HIV/AIDS cases stretching the limited resources.

Lack of safe drinking water in many rural areas is causing health problems.

GENERAL WHO OPERATIONS WORLDWIDE AND IN ZIMBABWE It has become more evident in the new millennium that health is a shared responsibility. There is therefore need for equitable access to essential health care and collective defence against transnational health threats like the evolving strains of influenza.

PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES FACED BY WHO IN ZIMBABWEThe serious logistical problems and challenges facing WHO in Zimbabwe include: Hospital service quality in the country has become very poor. Most of the hospitals, including the country’s referral centres, are inadequately equipped to cater for epidemics.

Access to health services by people in dire need is very poor due to the deteriorating transportation infrastructure and lack of affordability.

The lack of coordination among agencies due to poor communication networks in the country has limited the effectiveness of the organisation in its effort to ensure basic health services to the population.

There is limited access to primary health care. The exodus of medical professionals to other countries has created a serious manpower shortage.

GENERAL UNICEF OPERATIONS WORLDWIDE AND IN ZIMBABWE Aid from donor countries is transported normally by ship to the ports closest to the target country – Beira and Durban in the case of Zimbabwe and other Southern African countries. Important areas of focus are the state of the infrastructure such as roads, security, legislative issues and speed of customs clearance.

HUMANITARIAN LOGISTICS AT UNICEF ZIMBABWE UNICEF is an integral member organisation of the United Nations (UN) and is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs and expand their opportunities to reach their full potential.

PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES FACED BY UNICEF IN ZIMBABWE The challenges faced in Zimbabwe include the geographical barriers with donor countries; archaic political and legislative practices adopted in the country; dilapidated infrastructure; and different cultural norms

HUMANITARIAN LOGISTICS AT THE ZIMBABWE CIVIL PROTECTION ORGANISATION Many countries have set up protection organisations that focus on response preparedness, coordination of different humanitarian organisations and assistance in disaster recovery. The Zimbabwe Civil Protection Organisation (ZCPO) is an example.

SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION Suggested solutions for WFP It was discovered that most of the people employed as logisticians at the WFP Zimbabwe were not formally trained in humanitarian logistics. Competency-based capacity-building initiatives and mechanisms need to be developed and supported so that humanitarian logisticians’ skills and know-how are raised to professional levels, and supported by appropriate training discipline, accreditation and continuous professional development to meet the evolving systems and challenges.

Suggested solutions for the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society

The ZRCS needs to create more assistance lines by having updated appeals to the regional and international federations of Red Cross societies to better match existing demand. There might be a need to focus on either HIV/AIDS prevention or mitigation (antiretroviral distribution) to optimise resource use.

Suggested solutions for the WHO in Zimbabwe The following are suggested to reduce WHO logistics challenges in Zimbabwe: Ensure hospital service quality improves in many affected areas; rehabilitate critical hospitals especially referral centres in the main cities; encourage partnerships with governments, NGOs and the private sector in health assurance and delivery; maintain health experts and surveillance on epidemics; provide an adequate back-bone of medical supplies and logistics; agree on priorities between parties and establish coordination and joint action.

Suggested solutions for UNICEF Zimbabwe UNICEF has tried to reduce the risk of these challenges by forming effective partnerships, by the presence of its employees on the ground and through nurturing good relations with governments, local authorities, NGOs and other civil organisations in the country.

Suggested solutions for the ZCPO The management systems of the ZCPO need to be improved to reduce or eliminate any leakages through theft and corruption. There is also a need to decentralise authority and put in place effective humanitarian logistics management systems to avoid corruption, ineffectiveness and inefficiency. It might be necessary for the ZCPO to have their own small fleet of vehicles and then get extra help later when the most critical decisions and implementation steps have been taken.

CONCLUSION This case studies for humanitarian logistics operations in a number of organisations that operate in Zimbabwe.

The recommendations contribute to further discussion and dialogue on the development of collaborative networks that can assist in attending to the challenges that are faced by humanitarian organisations’ logistics operations.

Lessons from the Zimbabwean experience can be extended to assist in informing decision-making in humanitarian logistics in other African countries and worldwide.

THE END THANKS…