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The 2013 Conference on Health and Humanitarian Logistics: The Unique Logistical Challenges for Humanitarian Response in Asia will be held June 4-5, 2013 in Kuala Lumpur, Malayasia. The conference, which was initiated and organized by the Georgia Tech Health and Humanitarian Logistics Center since 2009, will be hosted by the Malaysia Institute for Supply Chain Innovation (MISI), a member of the MIT Global SCALE Network. The mission of the conference is to stimulate innovation and build capacity to manage humanitarian supply chains around the world. It brings together high level speakers from across the health and humanitarian sectors, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs), industry, government, etc.

The conference, now in its fifth year, is being held for the first time in Asia, where humanitarian response is especially critical. In 2011, Asia accounted for 86.3% of reported disaster victims worldwide.5 In addition, Malaysia is the hub for humanitarian logistics in Asia, hosting key facilities such as the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) and the Red Cross (IFRC) Regional Logistics Unit. Activities will encourage discourse among participants through plenary panels, interactive workshops, educational workshops, innovation posters and facility tours. Discussions will focus on the role of logistics in areas such as disaster response, health systems and food security as well as highlight the unique logistical challenges for humanitarian response in Asia. Ideas will be shared around emerging themes such as extending the reach of specialized nutrition products, exploring the role of social media and big data during crises, and examining the unique challenges for logistics in urban settings. You are welcome to email your ideas for panel themes, workshop topics, and potential speakers/facilitators to humlog2013@mit.edu or humlogconf@gatech.edu.

For more information about the conference program, please visit  http://www.humanitarian.gatech.edu/humlog2013 and http://misi.mit.edu.

5 Guha-Sapir D, Vos F, Below R, with Ponserre S. Annual Disaster Statistical Review 2011: The Numbers and Trends. Brussels: CRED; 2012.