Humanitarian supply chain management (SCM) is defined by the IFRC as ‘acquiring and delivering requested supplies and services at the places and times they are needed, whilst ensuring best value for money; in the immediate aftermath of any [type of] disaster or reconstruction situation, including items that are vital for survival, such as food, water, temporary shelter and medicine’. Humanitarian Logistics is part and parcel of the wider humanitarian SCM. Recent research has shown a need for multi-dimensional understanding of humanitarian SCM. Both from a technical perspective (logistics, information gathering, warehousing, pre-positioning, transportation, distribution) as well as from a strategic perspective (decision making, co-ordination, inter-organisational co-operation, public-private partnerships, contribution to long-term recovery through knowledge transfer) conceptualisation and field-sustained research has been conducted for the benefit of producing deeper knowledge of global humanitarian SCM. With an estimated 22 billion USD spent in 2013 on humanitarian aid (GHA report 2014; calculations based on both public as well as private spending) in response to natural disasters and complex emergencies one can easily see the need for professional and efficient humanitarian SCM, which is involved in 80% of all relief activities.
Asia and South-East Asia over the past decade have become increasingly prone to especially natural disasters. Be it because of climate change, man-made interference with nature or ‘simple’ geological circumstances, more frequently hazards have materialized into disasters, affecting the lives of millions and demanding increasing national and international humanitarian response. Indonesia is certainly an example in kind. From Tsunami’s to earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions and flooding, the vulnerability of the Indonesian population is quite high.
Over the past decade international humanitarian aid to Indonesia amounted to 242 million USD annually on average, leaving aside the sizeable amounts the Indonesian government spent on disaster response, risk reduction and preparedness. Given the size of the country, the state of its infrastructure and therefore issues of accessibility, proper attention to humanitarian logistics has been of prime importance.
An interesting development here is the growing role of ASEAN´s AHA Centre, the coordinating centre for humanitarian assistance on disaster management. Located in Jakarta, the AHA Centre progressively facilitates co-operation and co-ordination among the parties involved in disaster situations, and promotes regional collaboration with relevant United Nations and international organizations. Especially in the field of humanitarian logistics ASEAN´s AHA Centre has rapidly become a factor of influence over the past years.
The increasing importance of Humanitarian Supply Chain Management in the current disaster policy landscape gives a perfect rationale for the organizing of the Summer School.
OBJECTIVES
The learning objectives and expected outcomes of this Summer School is for the participants to acquire:
- highly specialised knowledge and a critical understanding of concepts and theories concerning humanitarian supply chain management and logistics.
- innovative expertise on supply chain management and logistics in humanitarian action with an interdisciplinary understanding in terms of its political, legal, anthropological, public health and management aspects.
- specialised skills to conceptualise, interpret and critically analyse complex humanitarian supply chain management and logistics.
- an open attitude towards acquiring new knowledge.