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Equity in health and humanitarian logistics: A people-centered perspective
Breugem,Thomas Fan,Yu Gernert,Andreas K. Van Wassenhove,Luk N.
Breugem,Thomas
Fan,Yu
Gernert,Andreas K.
Van Wassenhove,Luk N.
Abstract
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the core of present-day health and humanitarian logistics. Aid organizations advocate inclusive people-centered approaches to ensure that affected communities receive appropriate aid in an effective and equitable way. Tensions and even conflicts can arise if affected communities perceive the distribution of aid as inequitable. These perceptions are driven by people's so-called distributional preferences. These preferences are shaped by culture, social bonds, and experiences, and they describe how an individual's well-being and behavior are impacted by potential inequalities. Their importance is increasingly recognized by aid organizations, but research on equity in health and humanitarian logistics remains focused on equal access and prioritizing needs. Using current examples from the Syrian and Rohingya refugee crises, we show the importance of recognizing and managing distributional preferences. Based on these examples and in line with diversity, equity, and inclusion principles, we discuss several ways that we, as the operations community, can help conceptualize inclusive and people-centered approaches that account for distributional preferences.
Description
Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024.
Date
2025-04
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Research Projects
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Journal Issue
Keywords
Diversity, Distributional preferences, Equity, Health and humanitarian logistics, Inclusion, People-centered, SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
Citation
Breugem, T, Fan, Y, Gernert, A K & Van Wassenhove, L N 2025, 'Equity in health and humanitarian logistics : A people-centered perspective', Production and Operations Management, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 636-642. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4326921, https://doi.org/10.1177/10591478241248751