Provided supply chain support for NGO's tackling an Ebola outbreak

An Ebola Outbreak in Liberia triggered the deployment of an Infectious Disease Response Team of an NGO who required supply-chain sourcing and logistic support during a global Covid-19 pandemic.

Supply Chain Sourcing

An international Non-Governmental Organisation (iNGO) reached out to Inherent Risks with a problem. They had seven medical tents, and crates of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in three-countries, and needed them delivered to two field-hospitals. One in Liberia and one in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). They also needed to source more medical tents, PPE, and Ebola Vaccines that needed to be cold chain transported and stored.

While the list of required supplies was vast, we were confident based on past experience that we would be able to source everything that was required, but we were conscious that it would be the safe delivery of the cargo that would pose the biggest challenge.

After successfully sourcing medical tents from Germany, Dubai and South Africa, approved PPE from Turkey, and vaccines in Switzerland, we were faced with the complex task of coordinating transport that was required at extremely short notice.

Logistics Support

Through our existing global partnerships, we canvassed their capabilities and availabilities to transport this cargo from five separate countries, during a global lockdown, and into two complex regions that required additional permits, and in-country security to guarantee its safe delivery.

We deployed our retained Crisis Consultants from Sierra Leone and South Sudan to Liberia and DRC to secure the required permits, conduct a risk assessment of the supply routes, and coordinate the required ground-security. At the same time, we organised delivery of all cargo to the relevant departure airports for inspection, and coordinated charter flights.

The Results

Inherent Risks' work ensured that two iNGO's were able to respond to an unexpected outbreak of an infectious and deadly virus, and do their part in containing the virus by providing the correct treatment, while also protecting themselves and others from any further spread in those isolated regions.