< PreviousTHE BACK PAGE | FINAL WORDS... 50JUNE - JULY 2021 | LOGISTICS MIDDLE EASTwww.logisticsmiddleeast.com F I NAL W O RD S ... Increased demand and lack of resources: Humanitarian organisa- tions play a vital role in reaching remote countries that are already fighting for the survival of their popula- tion. These countries have been living on alms provided by organisations such as UNICEF and developed nations. The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the situation and heightened the demand for essentials. Humanitarian supplies are also dependent on donor funding, require a vast infrastructure and multiple resources to fulfil the ask. 2020 saw a significant disruption in the outreach of humanitarian supplies as flights halted, donations were diverted, and there were challenges in procuring supplies and storing them. The stark reality of this disruption provided further evidence that there needs to be a more developed and targeted collabora- tion between public and private entities. It is clear that the world was not ready for this sudden disruption, and partnering for a solution-driven approach is imperative. Humanitarian organisations must band together to pull in resources and create a streamlined, collaborative process to combat such emergencies. Additionally, humanitarian-based governmental and non-governmental organisations can initi- ate digital platforms that can help combine efforts during crises. The need for cold storage for the vaccine: COVID-19 vaccines need to be stored at very low temperatures, mak- ing cold storage an essential part of the vaccine supply chain. In general, cold chains demand higher investments in infrastructure and technology. It also calls for more human capital as you need alert staff to intervene in case of tem- perature variations. For example, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has a recommended storage temperature condition of -70°C ±10°C for up to 10 days HUMANITARIAN LOGISTICS SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTION AMIDST A GLOBAL CRISIS DR PAUL HOPKINSON, ASSOCIATE HEAD OF EDINBURGH BUSINESS SCHOOL AND THE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AT HERIOT-WATT UNIVERSITY, DUBAI, PROVIDES INSIGHTS INTO WHAT CAUSED THE HUMANITARIAN SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTIONS AND THE LESSONS LEARNED unopened. However, the more advanced vaccines with the nucleic acid-based tech- nology – mRNA – require ultra-low storage temperatures during transport of up to –80 degrees Celsius. Therefore, vaccines need adequate cold storage infrastructure such as freezers, refrigerated warehouses, transport vehicles, refrigerated chambers, and units for retailers and wholesalers to store the vaccine. Managing and transport- ing vaccines is a complex process, and the pandemic has reiterated the need for better cold storage infrastructure. Propelling this need and pushing logistics organisations and governments to think fast was the fact that there was an ever-increasing demand for a quick turn-around on transporting vaccines across the globe. Therefore, en- hancing the supply chain and investing in building large cold storage infrastructures is the need of the hour. Innovation at the core: Humanitarian supply chains have not been known as front runners in adapting technology and innova- tion. But a large-scale pandemic creates unprecedented needs and pushes even the most traditional industries to adapt and be agile. The need comes due to the increased pressure there is on humanitarian logistics during a pandemic. For example, according to various news reports, personnel deliver- ing aid were being quarantined during the Ebola crisis. As a result, there was an unwillingness of delivery people to enter high-risk and quarantine zones. Likewise, logistics companies and service providers did not want to risk getting their vehicles and employees exposed to the virus and risk situations as they feared the supplies and individuals would be stuck. A way to deal with this is to equip unmanned aerial vehicles already being used for medical deliveries in remote parts of the world with low-temperature freezers to support the transport of vaccines. This can be a combined effort between academia, the industry, and the government. Minimising the duration of disruption: Speed is crucial to humanitarian supply chains. Humanitarian organisations, by na- ture, operate in environments that are often unpredictable, uncertain, and are inundat- ed with ad hoc demands. However, urgency is sometimes overlooked or pushed as humanitarian supply chains are mobilised after a thorough assessment of the need, resulting in losing precious time. Need as- sessments are carried out to understand the requirements, including the location, items, needs, and vulnerabilities of the beneficiar- ies. This is key to ensuring the correct items are sent to the beneficiaries not to block or congest entry points. While assessments are necessary and non-negotiable, it is only through both - agility, that is, to respond to disruptions quickly and efficiently, and adaptability, that is, to adjust supply chain design to meet structural shifts, that a dif- ference can be made in terms of speed. One way to ensure speed in response to urgen- cies is by prepositioning critical items and identifying optimal locations for warehous- ing non-consumable inventories required to deploy aid in the initial stages. Locations can be identified by demand patterns, vul- nerabilities such as natural disasters, and other hazard frequencies. Humanitarian organisations can also deploy needs assess- ment teams to expedite the process. 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