“When a disaster strikes, logisticians have to quickly choose next actions. Are lives at risk, or is the rebuilding of infrastructure most important? What does the affected population lack most – water, food, or clothing? Only when these questions are answered, logisticians can set the right priorities”, Prof. Hellingrath explains.

The German Logistics Association (BVL) has more than 10,000 members, including many companies, service providers and researchers, who are experts on the fields of logistics and logistics software. This potential the BVL now uses for the second time to support a council on the topic of humanitarian logistics. The council aims to comprehend the contribution that logistics can make to relieve suffering in sudden on-set and permanent disasters, and aims to make use of the BVL network to raise consciousness about humanitarian challenges.

The first meeting of the council took place at the 25. April 2012 at the University of Münster, Germany. About 20 logistics experts from humanitarian aid organizations, companies and universities met under the patronage of the BVL to discuss a variety of topics, for instance how to get seaports ready for disaster. The council was inspired by a talk from Prof. Dr. med. Joachim Gardemann, who gave a physician’s view on humanitarian logistics. Prof. Gardemann has several decades of work experience in humanitarian aid, and is the leader of the Competence Center for Humanitarian Aid of the University of Applied Sciences in Münster.

The experts agreed on the importance of humanitarian logistics for both sudden on-set and permanent disasters. Prof. Hellingrath emphasizes that “besides the sudden on-set disasters so often displayed in the media, we must not forget the constant famines in Africa and other parts of the world. The famine at the Horn of Africa alone affects almost ten million people. Every Euro saved through more efficient humanitarian logistics can be used to help more people.”