Disaster relief depends on secure supply chains

By EMILY LORD

Contributor

A FedEx warehouse might save your life.

When hurricanes are approaching, FedEx allows the Red Cross to stock emergency supplies in its warehouses. By pre-positioning these supplies, disaster relief workers drastically reduce the time it takes to get medicines and other lifesaving aid into victims’ hands.

Similar partnerships between private companies, humanitarian organizations and government agencies are flourishing across the globe. They’ll prove vital to stopping the next pandemic, whether it’s a renewed Ebola outbreak, an antibiotic-resistant superbug or a frighte...