Strength in numbers towards a more efficient humanitarian aid: pooling logistics resources

Humanitarian needs are increasing at an alarming rate and international funding is not keeping up. In 2018, 40% of humanitarian needs were not met because of a funding gap of almost 10 billion dollars in humanitarian response plans. 1 It is more urgent than ever to improve the operational cost effectiveness ratio in order to reach more vulnerable people. In 2016, the international community came together at the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) to look for solutions to this funding gap. Three key and interdependent elements to address the deficit were identified: reducing needs, deepening and broadening funding sources, and improving the efficiency of humanitarian aid. 2 Humanitarian actors pledged to become more effective and efficient in order to react more quickly to crises and better meet the needs of vulnerable populations. Logistics3 is the backbone of humanitarian aid, representing 60 to 80% of expenditure and a major starting point for improving operations cost effectiveness.