Program

The conference, now in its fifth year, is being held for the first time in Asia, where humanitarian response is especially critical. In 2011, Asia accounted for 86.3% of reported disaster victims worldwide.5 In addition, Malaysia is the hub for humanitarian logistics in Asia, hosting key facilities such as the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) and the Red Cross (IFRC) Regional Logistics Unit.

The conference will be hosted by the Malaysia Institute of Supply Chain Innovation (MISI), which is a member of the MIT Global SCALE Network, and co-organized by Georgia Tech and MIT. The mission of the conference is to stimulate innovation and build capacity to manage humanitarian supply chains around the world. It brings together high level speakers from across the health and humanitarian sectors, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs), industry, government, etc.

Activities will encourage discourse among participants through plenary panels, interactive workshops, educational workshops, innovation posters and facility tours. Discussions will focus on the role of logistics in areas such as disaster response, health systems and food security as well as highlight the unique logistical challenges for humanitarian response in Asia. Ideas will be shared around emerging themes such as extending the reach of specialized nutrition products, exploring the role of social media and big data during crises, and examining the unique challenges for logistics in urban settings. You are welcome to email your ideas for panel themes, workshop topics, and potential speakers/facilitators to humlog2013@mit.edu or humlogconf@gatech.edu.

You are cordially invited to participate and share your knowledge and experiences.

Conference Co-Chairs

Mahender Singh1, Jarrod Goentzel2, Ozlem Ergun3, Pinar Keskinocak3, Julie Swann3
Conference Co-Chairs

1Malaysia Institute of Supply Chain Innovation
Rector: Mahender Singh
Shah Alam, 40150 Malaysia
http://www.misi.edu.my

2MIT Humanitarian Response Lab
Director: Jarrod Goentzel
Center for Transportation and Logistics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA 01239 USA
humanitarian@mit.edu

3Center for Health and Humanitarian Logistics
Co-directors: Ozlem Ergun, Pinar Keskinocak, and Julie Swann
Supply Chain and Logistics Institute
H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA 30332-0205
humlog@isye.gatech.edu


5Guha-Sapir D, Vos F, Below R, with Ponserre S. Annual Disaster Statistical Review 2011: The Numbers and Trends. Brussels: CRED; 2012.

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