With the crisis in Syria worsening daily, the need for fast, reliable emergency aid delivery has grown dramatically–especially in the past month: As of late August, Human Rights Watch estimates that more than 200,000 Syrians have now fled to neighboring countries. Meanwhile, the International Red Cross/Red Crescent reports that tens of thousands of citizens are displaced internally, within the country’s borders.
For these crisis-affected communities, basic food, water and medical supplies are increasingly hard to obtain as conflict continues in key cities and towns. For the aid agencies that provide this assistance, getting supplies to the ‘right people at the right time’ poses an equal challenge.
Earlier this summer, however, Souktel began working with partners to tackle this problem–developing a mobile supply chain management system that streamlines aid distribution to Syrian refugees: In the warehouse, mobile inventory management tools keep track of incoming and outgoing shipments, and a reporting module catalogs the value and quantity of all goods that arrive and depart. In the field, the system uses smartphone applications to track packages via satellite and report back on their status–and their GPS coordinates–in real time. The end result is a faster, more efficient aid supply chain where items like medicine get to local communities more quickly–with fewer bottlenecks, and fewer shipments going missing.
While the conflict, sadly, shows few signs of resolution, Souktel hopes that this new initiative will help address the immediate food and medicine shortages faced by Syrian refugees across the region. Drawing on its experience delivering emergency mobile services during crises like the 2009 Gaza conflict and the 2011 East Africa famine, the organization is committed to helping its Middle East neighbors improve their lives, especially in times of need.