Operation United Assistance's Logistics and Obstacles

Logistics and Obstacles
Operation United Assistance was set out and sent to Liberia in the year between mid-2014 and mid-2015 and delineates a suitable instance of the manner in which a Joint Force can offer support to a lead federal agency to bring a culmination to the rampant endemic of Ebola Virus disease. Notably, the Ebola endemic outbreak started at the outset of 2013 when a small child about the age of two years old died as a result of hemorrhagic fever. A short while after, several of the child’s relatives and their affiliates that subsisted across the region also became sick and fell to their demise. At the start of 2014, a team hailing from the Institu Pasteur which is situated in France made the confirmation that the spreading disease was the Ebola Virus Disease. The purpose of this paper is to identify logistics obstacles that were faced by United States operations in Liberia that facilitated the response by the United Nations and the United States towards the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak (Boucher, 2018).
In order to provide suitable response to any endemic, it is imperative to lave logistical support. It is perceptible that logistical requirements and necessities in such an environment ought to be in alignment with the necessities if a certain endemic. One of the key obstacles in logistics is the lack of infrastructure. As pointed out by Boucher (2018), the operational setting in Liberia is exceedingly challenging and difficult. This is owing to the fact that it is a small nation but with a working infrastructure that is just about non-existent especially with respect to roads and airfields. Aside from having solely one big airport, the most substantial logistical obstacle faced is the existence of poor quality roads or simply not having any existent roads in the area. One of the key solutions to dealing with this logistical challenge is using small airplanes that can easily transport supplies to small airports and land in regions devoid of major difficulty. Secondly, there is the solution of using simple means of transportations such as motor bikes that can be employed to transport urgent medical and food supplies in areas where cars cannot easily go through. What is more, the use of strong and durable means of transportation such as lorries and trucks that can move with ease. Moreover, using local residents who know the area significantly well can be a solution in reaching remote areas.
Another perceptible logistical challenge experienced from the article in the lack of capacity to properly respond to epidemics. This is largely for the reason that the nation’s system of healthcare was practically absent even prior to the epidemic. Statistics indicate that the nation has fewer than one doctor being responsible for more than 1,000 people. In addition, the health ministry for Liberia lacked the capability to track patients, establish public outreach movements, and also educate and provide insight to the general public regarding the spreading endemic of Ebola. Another challenge that restricted logistical endeavors is the fact that the local cultural practices enabled the protraction of the disease for the reason that families more often than not had a preference for having their relatives and loved ones to die at their homesteads and thereafter wash their bodies and bury them. This limits the efforts made by responders owing to the reason that progressively more individuals end up being exposed to the EVD. Taking into consideration restricted health facilities and the increased challenge of reaching these sorts of facilities, the poor road networks together with the costs incurred in transporting patients made it challenging for a great deal of Liberians. The key solution to this particular challenge is the creation of tented medical camps that are close to the regions and remote areas. This way, it becomes considerably easier for individuals to gain accessibility to medical services. What is more, there is also the solution of offering considerable training and education to the households and people. This is to facilitate proper understanding of the manner in which EVD is spread across and also how to prevent them from contracting diseases (Boucher, 2018).
There are other noticeable logistical challenges and obstacles in the form of lack of trained personnel in the far-distant and remote regions as well as logistic limitations concerning travel and communication. Aside from having a lack of sufficient vehicles that can facilitate patient transportation, there is also the challenge of inadequate number of educated and trained contract tracers that are capable of managing the increasing number of cases of the spreading Ebola virus. There is the challenge of lacking important means such as ambulances in addition to communication between the treatment centers for EVD and health teams deployed to the different counties and areas to communicate regarding the statuses of patients and also results from the labs. There is also the logistical problem of the restricted trained personnel and transportation abilities. The solution to this particular challenge is deploying a greater number of trained and educated personnel. This is imperative for the reason that the Ebola endemic in the nation presented a distinctive challenge not just owing to its spread into congested urban regions but also the disease’s occurrence in remote societies. In this regard, an increase in the number of individual with sufficient training with respect to important aspects such as investigation of cases, reporting them, tracing of individuals that have come into contact with the disease, facilitating safe burials. There is also the need for increased training in terms of how to gather, process and also transport the individual’s blood specimens for them to be examined and tested. In this regard, not only will it be possible to diminish the spreading but also increase the number of personnel dealing with the problem (Boucher, 2018).
Imperatively, the response provided within the operational setting encompassed working not only with American interagency but also with a wide range of other existent stakeholders. The logistical challenge presented in this regard encompassed the difficulty faced in the coordination and cooperation of these global stakeholders. The extent of sharing information and collaboration necessitated in this operational setting was especially difficult. The solution to this challenge takes into account strategic planning and guidance. This is in the sense that every organization or agency can be tasked with a certain responsibility or providing resources and supplies to one area. This can facilitate collaboration and diminish any instances of conflict or misunderstanding between organizations. The lack of basic amenities and facilities is another major perceptible challenge. As pointed out by Boucher (2018), the nation lacks a reliable electrical grid not just in Monrovia, which is the nation’s capital city but also all over the nation. This is a major challenge not only in the delivery of supplies and necessitated resources but also in facilitating communication. The key solution to this problem takes into account the investment by the government in back-up means such as generators for electricity and also lamps. What is more, owing to the fact that majority of the buildings and homes lack running water, the digging of boreholes and wells and disinfecting them can facilitates the provision of adequate water and ensuring that individuals are clean to diminish the spread of the disease.

References
Boucher, A. (2018). SUPPORTING, NON-STANDARD MISSION ROLE: US OPERATIONS IN LIBERIA, 2014-2015, THAT ENABLED THE US AND UN RESPONSE TO THE EVD OUTBREAK.