Humanitarian Supply Chain & Logistics

WFP IS A CORE PARTNER OF NORTH STAR ALLIANCE.

“We were honored to be a finalist, but to win this award is a dream come true,” stated Lambert van der Bruggen, ORTEC Consulting Group CEO. “North Star Alliance came to us with this human crisis. Fortunately, optimization techniques have many applications so we were able to create the COMETS health registration and passport system. In the field of humanitarian logistics this means reaching more people, saving more lives and strengthening communities globally.”

North Star works to establish a network of drop-in health clinics, called Roadside Wellness Centers along major transport corridors in low-income communities across Africa. The clinics offer healthcare to mobile populations who have no access to health services. ORTEC Consulting Group supports North Star on a pro bono basis with the development of a customized client health registration and passport system, called COMETS. COMETS is easy to use for staff without advanced computer skills and is resilient to operational challenges like power outages and breaks in connectivity.

In addition to COMETS, ORTEC Consulting Group launched a new system in 2011 called POLARIS, which combines information from a wide range of sources including COMETS data, traffic flows, commodity flows, and costs to improve North Star’s planning and decision-making on the ground. The system helps to ensure that future and existing Roadside Wellness Centers are strategically placed, and that the mix of health and safety services is optimal. In 2012, 218,762 people visited North Star clinics to receive counseling, testing, treatment and essential health information. Each of these patients health information was stored, monitored, and evaluated using COMETS.

About North Star Alliance:

North Star Alliance (North Star) is a not-for-profit public-private partnership that works at the crossroads of health and mobility. Our mission is to provide sustainable access to quality health and safety services to mobile workers and related communities. We harness the energies of more than 70 public, private and social partners to stop the spread of disease by establishing a network of strategically located clinics, called Roadside Wellness Centres, across Africa.

Visit North Star Alliance online at: http://www.northstar-alliance.org

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