Managing humanitarian logistics challenges: the case of Ghana.

This study emphasizes the challenges faced by humanitarian organizations in Ghana toeffectively manage natural disasters. Ghana has experienced repeated catastrophic flooddisasters resulting in high rates of morbidity and, physical infrastructure degradation. Theeconomic and social impact of these disasters is so great both government and nongovernmentalrelief systems and processes to support victims has been unable to cope. Thesituation is critical and so the aim here is to propose a way forward to manage disaster reliefbetter.The researcher reviewed key literature incorporating stakeholder engagement andcorporate social responsibility to investigate best practice. The review included humanitariansupply chain management and logistics management in the context of disaster management.By adopting social exchange theory to inform the collection of qualitative data from Ghanabasedhumanitarian aid organisations, deep insights were revealed. A mixed method approachof research was employed. To collect data from key stakeholders of humanitarian groups (tenmanagers and 37 employees), an in-depth semi-structured interview and questionnaire surveyswere utilised in a sequential data collecting strategy. Thematic analysis framework was usedto analyse the results obtained from the interview. In respect to this, the various themes wereidentified.Responses revealed a lack of knowledge of the challenges of humanitarian logisticsand their impact on the ability to manage disasters. Project management capabilities werelacking having a detrimental effect and demonstrate information gaps between commerciallogistics, humanitarian logistics and knowledge sharing among disaster management teams inGhana. The outcome of the investigation highlights the importance of communication andengaging with commercial logistics.A set of recommendations concludes the study informing possible speedier, effective,and efficient responses to disaster relief operations in Ghana. Even though the researchprovides empirical evidence that could help policymakers figure out choices regardinghumanitarian operations, caution is advised because this information is limited to one country- policymakers need to consider the country's context-dependent dynamic range.