Stratified delivery aid plans for humanitarian aid distribution centre selection

Humanitarian aid distribution centres (HADCs) are essential for bridging the gap between stranded beneficiaries and relief aid during a disaster. We incorporate three delivery aid plans (DAPs), namely prioritization by relief items, speed of delivery, and disaster location, into the decision to select HADCs. While anticipating decentralized relief aid supplies, humanitarian practitioners face uncertainties in HADC selection. Grounded in Contingency Theory, DAPs assist in anticipating the uncertain relief aid supplies contingent on the external environment. Hence, HADC selection must incorporate DAPs in pursuit of three performance criteria, namely efficiency, effectiveness, and equity. We propose a stratified multi-criterion decision-making (MCDM) approach for HADC selection in the post-disaster planning phase to counter the uncertainty of decentralized relief aid supplies. We perform numerical studies of the proposed dynamic model using the data on Cyclone Fani. The results show that HADC selection incorporating DAPs is more robust and impactful. We also conduct sensitivity analysis to examine the trade-offs between the performance criteria.

Automated summary

Humanitarian aid distribution centres (HADCs) play a crucial role in bridging the gap between stranded beneficiaries and relief aid during disasters. The decision-making process for selecting HADCs should consider factors such as prioritization of relief items, speed of delivery, and disaster location. This study proposes a stratified multi-criterion decision-making approach to address the uncertainty of decentralized relief aid supplies in the post-disaster planning phase.