EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
on Saturday 25 April 2015, an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale was recorded in Nepal, 80 km to the north-west of Kathmandu and 68 km east of Pokhara. The Government of Nepal immediately declared a state of emergency, and called upon the support from the international community. Following the government request, the Logistics Cluster was activated on 27 April to facilitate a well-coordinated and effective humanitarian logistics response.
An estimated 2.8 million people were in need of assistance due to the April earthquake, as well as a second major earthquake (7.3 on the Richter scale) registered on 12 May. A large part of the affected population was located in mountainous, remote and difficult-to-reach areas, putting pressure on the humanitarian community to design a logistics response enabling access to these areas.
As part of the Global Logistics Cluster strategy, the Global Logistics Cluster commissioned a Lessons Learned exercise in September 2015 with the objective of drawing lessons learned from the Logistics Cluster operation and assess the relevance/appropriateness, efficiency, and effectiveness of the Logistics Cluster response. The findings will inform the future development of Logistics Cluster operations and contribute to the development of the post-2015 Global Logistics Cluster strategy.
The Lessons Learned found that the Logistics Cluster response was well-executed and in general enabling organizations to deliver lifesaving relief materials to the affected population. The operation was relevant, appropriate, and effective. In terms of efficiency, it was overall efficient, though subparts of the operation were seen as less efficient.