Logistics Preparedness And Disaster Response Of International Humanitarian Organizations In Kenya

Abstract

Humanitarian organizations in Kenya focus on helping to uplift the life of Kenyans especially where and when disasters happen. However, there are various challenges facing these humanitarian organizations in Kenya which have been affecting their delivery of humanitarian services. One of the challenges is lack of proper logistics preparedness. This study, thus, is aimed at assessing humanitarian logistics preparedness and disaster response of humanitarian organizations. The study used descriptive research design and focused on 57 international humanitarian organizations in Kenya. It used primary and secondary data to accomplish its objective. The study used descriptive statistics to analyze the data and to establish the correlation between logistics preparedness by humanitarian organization and disaster response, a regression model was used. The study revealed that humanitarian organization logistics preparedness enhances disaster response. The study concluded that management and control, logistics operations, recipient community and response network efforts significantly and positively affect disaster response by IHOs in Kenya. The study recommended that humanitarian organizations should undertake policy measures such as hiring qualified and specialized logistics staff, prior planning, involving affected communities and coordinating with other stakeholders for information sharing and avoiding duplication of response efforts. These measures aimed at increasing logistics preparedness enhances disaster response.