Behavioral Challenges of Humanitarian Supply Chain in the Context of Natural Calamities in India
Anoop C.1, Regi Kumar V.2
1Anoop C., Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Central Polytechnic College Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala), India.
2Dr. Regi Kumar V., Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum (Kerala), India.
Manuscript received on 26 December 2022 | Revised Manuscript received on 28 January 2023 | Manuscript Accepted on 15 February 2023 | Manuscript published on 28 February 2023 | PP: 43-51 | Volume-12 Issue-3, February 2023 | Retrieval Number: 100.1/ijeat.C39800212323 | DOI: 10.35940/ijeat.C3980.0212323
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: When natural occurrences affect populated areas and destroy local infrastructure and population, they are referred to as natural disasters and cause pain and deprivation. India is one of the regions in the world that experiences disasters most frequently due to its physiographic and meteorological conditions. Natural disasters have become more frequent over the past decade, particularly in India. Increased population, urbanisation, industrialisation, development in high-risk areas, environmental degradation, and climate change can all contribute to heightened vulnerability to catastrophe risks. Humanitarian operations are initiated as soon as a disaster occurs to assist victims quickly in various ways, including rescuing those affected or stranded, gathering and disposing of corpses, allocating resources, providing food aid, shelter, and medical care, and reopening access to remote areas. Delays in delivery or relief during humanitarian efforts can result in the loss of lives. Therefore, as it guarantees the seamless flow of products and services in a convoluted supply chain, logistical efficiency is a crucial component of humanitarian success. Logistics is essential to the effectiveness and responsiveness of major humanitarian initiatives like health, food, shelter, water, and sanitation. It acts as a link between catastrophe preparedness and response, as well as between procurement and distribution. Calamities, crises, plagues, and destructive actions can all be categorised as disasters, depending on the logistical effort required. Different types of disasters require different approaches to management. Running refugee camps is considerably different from providing the kind of aid needed after a sudden natural disaster or a nuclear accident. Offering assistance to help a place develop is different from aid given to deal with famine and drought. The humanitarian supply chain (HSC) is an organisation that specialises in planning the distribution and storage of supplies to affected areas and individuals during emergencies and natural disasters. The complex environments involved in a disaster, quick design, new or unfamiliar intermediaries or participants, and thus, it faces many possible obstacles, making it highly unpredictable and tumultuous. The humanitarian supply chain comprises numerous players, each with a distinct approach, mindset, and cultural background. In situations involving India, the humanitarian supply chain involves foreign aid agencies, host governments, the military, local self-governments, regional aid agencies, and others, all of whom have competing interests, mandates, capacities, and logistics expertise. Due to the complexity, it is imperative to analyze key variables to create a humanitarian supply chain that meets the needs of donors, beneficiaries, and service providers alike. The history of India illustrates how a lack of professionalism, inadequate cooperation among various parties, and several other cultural factors have contributed to the field of humanitarian logistics being a complex and multifaceted area with numerous challenges and significant considerations. When building a supply chain, from sourcing to production, storage, distribution, and all transportation links in between, a sustainable supply chain (SSC) aims to consider the environment, the economy, and social and human issues. The humanitarian supply chain should be integrated with sustainable practices from the outset of its design and development. To effectively handle the most challenging situations arising from natural calamities, a sustainable and optimised humanitarian supply chain is necessary. With the aid of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchains, and machine learning, the domain of sustainable humanitarian supply chains in India is facing challenges and obstacles, with considerable room for improvement. In the context of the natural disasters in India, the article’s primary focus is on the importance of an effective and sustainable humanitarian supply chain. The goal of this article is to identify the obstacles and variables that affect the efficient development of a humanitarian supply chain in India that is flexible enough to fulfil the unique needs of an HSC that are entirely different from those of a commercial supply chain
Keywords: Disaster, Humanitarian Supply Chain, Sustainability, Natural Calamities.
Scope of the Article: Disaster Management