Humanitarian Supply Management and Logistics in the Health Sector

◆ Availability of food: Not all events lead to dwindling stocks of food,
but people who have lost their homes or belongings will likely
require some temporary support in this regard.
◆ Shelter: The impact of a disaster might force people to look for temporary
shelter until they resolve their housing situation.
◆ Sanitation: The generally sudden disruptions of the everyday functioning
of a community, as well as the displacement or temporary
resettlement of the victims, can cause environmental degradation and
imperil health due to a rise in unsanitary conditions.
Bearing in mind which kind of disaster we are facing, we can come to
preliminary conclusions on what type of assistance will most likely be
necessary, and launch an appropriate response in the field until more
thorough assessments reveal to us in greater detail the needs that must be
met.
Operational Needs
All too often, local organizations involved in emergency response do not
have the resources to respond effectively to a disaster. It is therefore
important to determine what resources an organization has (or is lacking),
and what is required for relief operations to be carried out effectively. If
logistical planning and preparations have taken place before the event,
this will make it easier to determine which resources are available—and
which are lacking and must be procured elsewhere. (See also the section
on Logistics Planning and Preparedness in Chapter 2.)
Assessment of Local Capacity
By local capacity we mean not only the physical resources available at
the site of an emergency, but any factors that may help emergency supply
management, such as local knowledge of the terrain or weather patterns,
or social capital in the form of community organizations, formal
and informal communications channels, and the like.
Local Infrastructure Capacity
Chapter 3: Assessing logistical and supply needs 17
Since disasters tend to affect lifelines, including roads and infrastructure
in general, it is essential to carry out a quick inventory of their availabil-