2449. Efficient and equitable relief aid allocation and distribution
Invited abstract in session TE-2: Semi-plenary talk Salman, stream PC Stream.
Thursday, 16:30-17:15Room: H4
Authors (first author is the speaker)
| 1. | Sibel Salman
|
| Industrial Engineering, Koc University |
Abstract
In post-disaster response, relief items are delivered to disaster victims to meet immediate needs and alleviate suffering. At the initial stages of the disaster, it is important to allocate limited supplies equitably and ensure that they reach the people in need as soon as possible. We will present a study on planning vehicle routes from a distribution center to shelters while allocating limited relief supplies. To balance efficiency and equity, a bi-objective problem is defined. The objectives are to minimize a Gini-index-based measure of inequity in unsatisfied demand for fair distribution and to minimize total travel time for timely delivery. By deriving mathematical properties of the optimal solution, we introduce valid inequalities and design an algorithm for optimal delivery allocations given feasible vehicle routes. A branch-and-price (B&P) algorithm is developed to solve the problem efficiently. Computational tests on realistic datasets show that the B&P algorithm significantly outperforms commercial MIP solvers. Our bi-objective approach reduces aid distribution inequity by 34% without compromising efficiency.
Keywords
- Disaster and Crisis Management
Status: accepted
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