Pharma.Aero partners with HLA on humanitarian initiatives

Pharma.Aero has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Humanitarian Logistics Association (HLA) to facilitate the movement of pharma goods in humanitarian crises.

The companies said the collaboration will underline common interests between their goals, as well as enabling them to partner on air cargo projects, particularly humanitarian initiatives. 

Jeremy Mitchell, director of Pharma.Aero, commented: “By joining forces with HLA, we bring the human interest aspect into the Pharma.Aero network and platform. This will create more leverage and added value in all our undertakings as well as broaden our scope and impact when reaching out to the entire pharmaceutical air cargo supply chain.”

Trevor Caswell, vice chairman Pharma.Aero and responsible for projects, added: “Both organisations share the same vision: being a neutral platform of international best-practice and knowledge sharing, and fostering community collaboration by trust. In setting up joint projects that emphasise the growing importance – both for the rapidly changing aid system as well as for the supply chain – of ‘local actors’ and ‘last mile’, we can create added value: to look at ways to improve reaching difficult places via UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] technology will be one of our first joint projects.”

George Fenton, chief executive of HLA, said: “HLA aims to increase understanding and forge alliances between aid organisations, the private, public and academic sectors.

“The newly formed partnership with Pharma.Aero will enable us to add significant value to our network and gear up the effectiveness and efficiency of members by raising awareness of standards, facilitating access to training and career development opportunities, and encourage collaboration among a broader range of humanitarian logisticians.”