Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review the relevant literature in order to identify trends and suggest some possible directions for future research in the framework of humanitarian aid distribution logistics with accessibility constraints.Design/methodology/approach: The authors developed a systematic literature review to study the state of the art on distribution logistics considering accessibility constraints. The electronic databases used were Web of science, Scopus, Science Direct, Jstor, Emerald, EBSCO, Scielo and Redalyc. As a result, 49 articles were reviewed in detail.Findings: This study identified some gaps, as well as some research opportunities. The main conclusions are the need for further studies on the interrelationships and hierarchies of multiple actors, explore intermodality, transshipment options and redistribution relief goods to avoid severe shortages in some nodes and excess inventory in others, studies of the vulnerability of transport networks, correlational analysis of road failures and other future lines.Research limitations/implications: The bibliography is limited to peer-reviewed academic journals due to their academic relevance, accessibility and ease of searching. Most of the studies included in the review were conducted in high-income countries, which may limit the generalizability of the results to low-income countries. However, the authors focused on databases covering important journals on humanitarian logistics.Originality/value: This paper contextualises and synthesises research into humanitarian aid distribution logistics with accessibility constrains, highlights key themes and suggests areas for further research.

The use of rosuvastatin plus colchicine and emtricitabine/tenofovir in hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 disease (COVID-19) has not been assessed. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness and safety of rosuvastatin plus colchicine, emtricitabine/tenofovir, and their combined use in these patients. This was a randomized, controlled, open-label, multicentre, parallel, pragmatic study conducted in six referral hospitals in Bogotá, Colombia. The study enrolled hospitalized patients over 18 years of age with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 complicated with pneumonia, not on chronic treatment with the study medications, and with no contraindications for their use. Patients were assigned 1:1:1:1. 1) emtricitabine with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (FTC/TDF, 200/300 mg given orally for 10 days); 2) colchicine plus rosuvastatin (COLCH+ROSU, 0.5 mg and 40 mg given orally for 14 days); 3) emtricitabine with tenofovir disoproxil plus colchicine and rosuvastatin at the same doses and for the same period of time (FTC/TDF+COLCH+ROSU); or 4) the Colombian consensus standard of care, including a corticosteroid (SOC). The primary endpoint was 28-day all-cause mortality. A modified intention-to-treat analysis was used together with a usefulness analysis to determine which could be the best treatment. The trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04359095 Out of 994 candidates considered between August 2020 and March 2021, 649 (65.3%) patients agreed to participate and were enrolled in this study; among them, 633 (97.5%) were included in the analysis. The mean age was 55.4 years (SD ± 12.8 years), and 428 (68%) were men; 28-day mortality was significantly lower in the FTC/TDF+COLCH+ROSUV group than in the SOC group, 10.7% (17/159) vs. 17.4% (28/161) (hazard ratio [HR] 0.53; 95% CI 0.29 to 0.96). Mortality in the FTC/TDF group was 13.8% (22/160, HR 0.68, 95% CI 0.39 to 1.20) and 14.4% in the COLCH+ROSU group (22/153) (HR 0.78, 95% CI 0.44 to 1.36). A lower need for invasive mechanical ventilation was observed in the FTC/TDF+COLCH+ROSUV group than in the SOC group (risk difference [RD] - 0.08, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.04). Three patients presented severe adverse events, one severe diarrhoea in the COLCH+ROSU and one in the FTC/TDF+COLCH+ROSU group and one general exanthema in the FTC/TDF group. The combined use of FTC/TDF+COLCH+ROSU reduces the risk of 28-day mortality and the need for invasive mechanical ventilation in hospitalized patients with pulmonary compromise from COVID-19. More randomized controlled trials are needed to compare the effectiveness and cost of treatment with this combination versus other drugs that have been shown to reduce mortality from SARS-CoV-2 infection and its usefulness in patients with chronic statin use.

Purpose: Understanding how the structure affects logistical performance and food security is critical in the supply chains of perishable foods (PFSC). This research proposes a system dynamics model to analyze the effects of structures: lean, agile, flexible, responsive and resilient, in the overall performance and of each agent of the PFSC.Design/methodology/approach: Using a system dynamics model and design of experiments it is studied how the different structures and their combination, affect the behavior of inventory, transportation, responsiveness, efficiency, availability and quality-safety of the fresh fruits supply chain and each echelon.Findings: The studies of supply chains have been done for each structure in an independent way; investigations are scarce in supply chains of perishable foods. The structures modeled in this research do not show the better performance in all the metrics of the chain, neither in all agents for each structure. The above implies the presence of trade-offs.Research limitations/implications: The results show the need to investigate mixed structures with the FPSC´s own characteristics; the model can be applied in other supply chains of perishable foods.Practical implications: Management by combining structures in the FFSC, improves logistics performance and contributes to food security.Social implications: The agents of the FFSC can apply the structures found in this study, to improve their logistics performance and the food security.Originality/value: The dynamics of individual and combined structures were identified, which constitutes a contribution to the discussion in the literature of such problems for FFSC. The model includes six echelons: farmers, wholesalers, agro-industry, third-party logistics operators and retailers. The dynamic contemplates deterioration rate to model perishability and others losses.

Purpose: The location of actors and production, transformation, commercialization and distribution facilities generate the configuration of the perishable food supply chain (PFSC). The logistics network design (LND) lead to different supply, storage and distribution environments and result in flows, these logistics operations have an impact on the performance of the chain of fresh agricultural products. Specifically, in the PFSC with seasonality, a temporary imbalance between supply and demand is generated, which affects the balance in the flows and affects the losses, costs and response capacity. This research study that problem.Design/methodology/approach: A multi-echelon, multi-objective and multi-product model is established that determines the configuration of the logistics network of the PFSC with seasonally and allows actors to approach efficiency frontiers, which contribute to their permanence in the markets. The model was applied to the case of the perishable fruit supply chain, in a developing country, Colombia. The population information was taken from government surveys and studies, which allowed parameterizing the model.Findings: The application of model permitted to answer the next questions: How does improve the performance from PFSC through logistics network design? And, How the existence of smallholdings in food production and from retail merchants is preserved? In the perishable food supply chain.Social implications: Where the perishable food supply chain actors are located in non-efficient borders and their sustainability may be affected by competition factors, the stakeholders should focus on increasing food availability and reducing losses to improve access and therefore food security.Originality/value: A new model for the logistics network configurations of seasonal perishable fruit supply chain was development, the optimizing from five objectives with two sub-models is obtained, one for surplus and the other for the deficit moments. The model includes real conditions, such as, fruit loss due T0 and RH by different thermal floors and the means used for the transport of fruits in mountain areas at countries in route of development. The impact over the small producers, retailers and consumers in the times of scarcity or surplus was analyzed.

This paper evaluates the incidence of packing asymmetries, resulted from the use of heterogeneous packaging materials by different mango supply chain actors in Colombia, on performance measures of inventory, transportation, and quality. A system dynamics model was proposed based on the literature review on inventory and transportation logistics, the studies on asymmetries in supply chain, packing, and packaging, and the results of the characterization of the fruit chain logistics in various departments of Colombia from 2012 to 2013. We used the proposed model to test the following hypothesis: “The asymmetry in the packaging, derived from the actors’ individual management, creates inefficiencies that may be avoid if the packaging of the fruit is done thinking on the chain”. The developed simulation model allowed us to prove the proposed dynamic hypothesis. Forrester’s model includes four echelons for the supply chain: production, processing, wholesale, and retail, as well as warehousing, transportation and information.

The supply chains of perishable food (PFSC) fresh, present imbalances between supply and demand, in times of supply deficit is necessary to guarantee the food security through the availability, the access and other pillars. In the PFSC losses are highest, whereby the delivery times must be low to guarantee the availability. For the access, must be include the largest number of retailed storekeepers, thus monopolies from large hypermarkets are avoided. In this context, the modeling In PFSC presents big challenges such as the inclusion of delivery times, losses and fresh food biophysical specific conditions which depend of the transport time and storage, the configuration and the number of echelons on the PFSC. In this article, a multiobjective, multiproduct and multi-echelon for perishable food logistics networks design mixed linear programming model is presented. The model allows determining the best configuration so that the different actors of the PFSC, so that could move closer to more efficient borders. The model considers the losses in perishable food derived from the impacts caused by changes in temperature (T°) and relative humidity (RH), on a mountainous environment of developing countries. It is solved in AMPL through e-constrains method. The model is applied in a case study around the perishable fruit supply chains (PFrSC). The information to the model parameterization was obtained through surveys done to the actors of the different echelons of PFrSC during a 4-year period that were complemented with secondary information from public and private enterprises.