Humanitarian Logistics
INTRODUCTION
1. Background of the Study
Emergencies and disasters place exceptional demands on humanitarian logistics and calls for fast , agile and quick response to alleviate human lives. Deficiencies in the flow of supplies may result in dire consequences. As a result of continuous human and man-made disasters logistics has now become an important factor in humanitarian aid operations, to the “extent that logistics efforts account for 80 percent of disaster relief” (Trunick, 2005).
Humanitarian logistics encompasses a ranges of complicated activities as compared to commercial logistics, it ranges from preparedness, planning, procurement, transport, warehousing, tracking and tracing , customs clearance, communications, reporting , accountability , analyzing and managing complex information. The scope of procurement in a humanitarian situation is too wide; from sourcing medicals, equipment and transport, food, shelter and clothing, water and sanitation.
Zimbabwe is still in transition due to the complex and severe crises experienced over the last ten years, facing acute emergencies including droughts, floods, cholera, measles, typhoid , murambatsvina , the silent but devastating HIV and AIDS epidemic and the depleted capacity for basic social services. The number of NGO’s operating in Zimbabwe has increased as a result and humanitarian logistics is now taking a centre stage to ensure the effectiveness of all the interventions in disaster risk reductions considering that 80% of relief work is logistics .The country experienced a sharp economic decline from 2000 to 2010 and this impacted heavily on humanitarian logistics in its effort to quickly respond to emergencies.
Therefore, just as the science of logistics and supply chain management has become critically important for private sector logistics, so too it is becoming more important for humanitarian with the objectives of serving human lives. Humanitarian logistics skills remain
1. Background of the Study
Emergencies and disasters place exceptional demands on humanitarian logistics and calls for fast , agile and quick response to alleviate human lives. Deficiencies in the flow of supplies may result in dire consequences. As a result of continuous human and man-made disasters logistics has now become an important factor in humanitarian aid operations, to the “extent that logistics efforts account for 80 percent of disaster relief” (Trunick, 2005).
Humanitarian logistics encompasses a ranges of complicated activities as compared to commercial logistics, it ranges from preparedness, planning, procurement, transport, warehousing, tracking and tracing , customs clearance, communications, reporting , accountability , analyzing and managing complex information. The scope of procurement in a humanitarian situation is too wide; from sourcing medicals, equipment and transport, food, shelter and clothing, water and sanitation.
Zimbabwe is still in transition due to the complex and severe crises experienced over the last ten years, facing acute emergencies including droughts, floods, cholera, measles, typhoid , murambatsvina , the silent but devastating HIV and AIDS epidemic and the depleted capacity for basic social services. The number of NGO’s operating in Zimbabwe has increased as a result and humanitarian logistics is now taking a centre stage to ensure the effectiveness of all the interventions in disaster risk reductions considering that 80% of relief work is logistics .The country experienced a sharp economic decline from 2000 to 2010 and this impacted heavily on humanitarian logistics in its effort to quickly respond to emergencies.
Therefore, just as the science of logistics and supply chain management has become critically important for private sector logistics, so too it is becoming more important for humanitarian with the objectives of serving human lives. Humanitarian logistics skills remain