Dear Editor,

Outbreaks of epidemics account for a great number of deaths. Communicable or infectious diseases are also a major cause of mortality in the aftermath of natural or man-made disasters. Effective control of an epidemic calls for a rapid response. Available resources, such as essential medical supplies and well-trained personnel need to be deployed rapidly and to be managed in conjunction with available information and financial resources in order to contain the epidemic before it reaches uncontrollable or disastrous proportions. Therefore, the establishment and management of an emergency supply chain during the containment effort are of paramount importance.

The world is now under siege as the global crisis of COVID-19 rapidly spreads through every country across the globe, yet the need for supplies to be moved is more so in demand now than ever before. Medical supplies in areas such as Italy, France, and the United States of America, just to name a few places, are in dire need in other territories. There needs to be coordination as to how to contain the spread of this deadly virus that has captured so many lives.

Still, some smaller countries within the Caribbean, such as Jamaica, have exercised good logistical practices which have, to date, proven effective, as only 63 people of the 2.8 million population have been infected.

This goes to show the preparedness and the importance of proper planning, not only in the building of an economy through monetary means, but this is a testament to the importance of logistics in planning activities to be better able to forecast the outcome of a pandemic such as COVID-19, and the means by which the responses may be administered.

Keldon Green

keldong6@gmail.com