Humanitarian Food Logistics: Optimizing the Inventory Model of Corn Soya Blend (CSB) and Deterioration Rate by the World Food Program (WFP) Under the Conflict and Insurgency Controlled Areas

Abstract

The paper carefully examines malnutrition food supplements, the corn soya blend  (CSB) distribution among children, and breastfeeding mothers in areas engulfed by conflict attacks. The vulnerable situation created by the Boko Haram Jihadists cannot be easily quantified or overemphasized. The deterioration rate of corn soya blend (CSB) is high due to the impact of climate, temperature, and storage facility. This situation also leads to a substantial rise in holding and ordering costs and the safety of WFP humanitarian workers, CBS consignments, and other essential items is crucial. This study attempts to develop an optimized inventory model for the distribution of corn soya blend (CSB) to enhance the performance of the WFP.  An inventory model is developed to identify the optimality, a numerical analysis is conducted to assess the model's effectiveness, and a sensitivity analysis is performed to evaluate how changes in key parameters affect the optimal solution. This analysis helps demonstrate the model's reliability and highlights which parameters are most influential to the objective. The model can assist relief organizations in efficiently managing the distribution of supplies to conflict-controlled areas.