Logistics organizations join the fight against Ebola

As groups like the World Health Organization and UNICEF have made clear in recent weeks, logistics expertise and muscle are critical to mounting an effective response to the devastating outbreak of Ebola in West Africa. A number of organizations in the logistics and transportation field are answering that call, volunteering their time, expertise, and services to help stop the spread of the deadly disease. Here are just a few examples:

• The American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN) is coordinating delivery of critical supplies to West Africa. According to ALAN Executive Director Kathy Fulton, health professionals and volunteers there need personal protective equipment (PPE), but restocking them is difficult because borders are closed, and many commercial carriers have stopped service to the affected countries. Working with other logistics-focused nonprofit partners, ALAN is assisting nonprofits that are donating PPEs to the Ministries of Health in the affected countries. Airlifts have transported more than 300,000 pounds of supplies to Liberia and Sierra Leone, with another 350,000 pounds scheduled. ALAN, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is seeking financial donations to support the Ebola response; you can give online at www.ALANAid.org. The group is also seeking in-kind support, including transportation and warehousing. If you can help, contact Fulton at Kathy@ALANAid.org.
• UPS has allocated emergency funding for the World Food Programme to support the group's "global logistics cluster" operations in West Africa. The carrier also handled a charter flight for UNICEF and is providing ongoing air, ocean, and ground support for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Medshare, Africare, and other nonprofit agencies.
• The Air Force Medical Operations Agency (AFMOA) is using Port San Antonio (Texas) and the adjacent Kelly Field as a logistics center to support African nations impacted by Ebola. Supplies, which include mobile hospitals, are loaded onto military cargo aircraft. A video produced by the USAF 502nd Air Base Wing shows how it's done at www.portsanantonio.us.