Role of Humanitarian Supply Chain Management in

It is the joint collaboration of manpower and experts from several disciplines of public institutions to address the outbreak any kind of natural calamity and its affect on human society.  It is used to handle such kind of situation from ground zero level and control the same through the excellent humanitarian assistance. 

Level of uncertainty  Unpredictable Timing  Inaccessible location  Difficulty in uniform supply  Challenges for the Authority  The impact of other social environments  Difficulty in Transportation  Limited source of communication  Continuing process of restoration  Difficulty in assessing the actual loss 

Execution of proper planning  Level of procurement  Effective storage facility  Design of transport facilities  Role of cold storage  Generic and volunteer contribution  Delivery Mechanisms  Effective monitoring and evaluation 

CASE STUDY- Humanitarian supply chain management by Government of Odisha during the recently occurred heavy cyclone PHAILIN:

Immediately warning message sent through SMS to all Multipurpose Cyclone Shelter Communities to alert for the cyclonic situation on dated10.10.2013 with the following text message “ Be prepared for the severe”.  All Multipurpose Cyclone Shelters were informed for prepositioning of dry food, safe drinking water and essential medicine, safe evacuation of expectant mothers (Pregnant), elderly persons, PWDs, Women & Children on priority basis along with their essential documents, medicines etc. 

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A procurement committee was formed for procurement of all relief items including dry food items such as Chuda, Jagery, Biscuit, Candle, Match Box, Salt, Flour(Ata), Bread etc by following financial norms & accounting procedure. Tarpaulin Clothing material for men, women & children Hygiene kit Kitchen utensil, Emergency light/ lantern, Dignity kit. Other necessary support

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Chhatisgarh state branch extended support of food item such as 30 qtls of Chuda and 10 qtl Guda(Jagery). His Excellency, Governor of Chhatisgarh flagged off the vehicle. Rearranging of the warehouse was done so that relief materials can be kept properly. Transport agency was finalized for carrying/ transporting/ distribution of relief materials to affected community. Request letter was sent to RTO for requisition of vehicles for relief/ response. Request to IDCO for supply of bag. Appeal for mobilize funds for the cyclone and flood affected people

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Cash Transfers and Cash for work to help households meet needs while no work is available for the next 45 to 60 days, where possible Cash should be given so households can meet diverse needs. Food distribution should also include nutritional supplement for the children. Food distribution in cases where access to food is limited, or market analysis recommends it. Immediate support for fisherman community to restore their livelihood. Boat repairing and fishing nets. Some vulnerable households are not able to work, persons with disability, the elderly etc. and would need unconditional cash transfers for humanitarian needs in the current context. Limited relevance for community kitchens has been observed due to scarcity of cooking fuels or utensils. Purchase seeds for flood affected communities/ communities where fields were inundated

Agencies could provide vegetable seeds of short interval varieties so that agricultural land that is only damaged by wind and water can get a quick harvest.  Some saline tolerant fodder crops could be considered to plant in areas that were affected by inundation of saline water during the storm surge. Plantation of fruit bearing trees and plants 

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Work on improving water, sanitation and hygiene, considering the risk of diarrhea and skin diseases. Consider mosquito nets to reduce the risk of vector borne diseases. Health camps to meet urgent medical needs of affected communities and marginal communities. Medical support for water and vector borne diseases and skin diseases (focus on children) Support re-opening of AWCs and AWWs and meet nutritional requirements of pregnant women, children. Technical agencies such as UNICEF to support local stakeholders during the initial phase of response. UNICEF: “Promote exclusive breastfeeding for mothers with infants rather than providing baby foods.”

Urgent provision of tarpaulins to protect food and remaining household items from the rain and elements.  Many agencies have recommended the use of solar lanterns  Provision of household items such as kitchen utensils, blankets, mattresses where people have also lost their belongings 

Clearance of disaster wastes including solid waste and debris (human excreta, tree and house damage materials etc.)  Large plastic container with cover for water storage, hygiene kits and promotion of hand washing with soap.  Disinfection of drinking water sources with bleach, halogen tablets or water filtration, and provision of clean drinking water particularly in flood affected areas. 

Leveraging and adapting the social protection schemes for the very vulnerable is critical in the primary days of humanitarian crisis.  It is important to use the six-lens criteria of targeting the child-headed households, single women households, pregnant and lactating women, disabled, elderly, sick and poorest of the poor with larger number of children in order that government social safety net is rapidly available to the BPL, Dalit and other vulnerable households  Immediate staring of ICDS centres and other food security schemes is critical  Women and Child Development / District Child Protection Officers need to activate the alertness, registration of children and ensure protection by mitigating trafficking, neglect and abuse of children. 

Advocate and promote the immediate start up of early child care centers and primary schools so that children can return to their schools and meet their peers, play and begin to experience normalcy  Replace immediately the lost books and other needed items for children to experience that the disaster story is over and they have all their education materials back 

The above case study shows the practical aspect of supply chain management and teaches us if necessary actions are taken in nick of time, then the severity of such natural catastrophes can be avoided.  As a result, after effect of Phailin brings praise from all over world for effective utilization of the above stated strategy for the state. 

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