CHORD published a report on the private sector’s involvement in humanitarian responses with Airlink, made possible by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.
WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, June 23, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — In collaboration with Airlink, Inc., today the Center for Humanitarian Logistics and Regional Development (CHORD) published a research report on the importance of the private sector’s involvement in humanitarian responses. The report, titled From Ad Hoc to Essential: A Growing Role for the Private Sector in Humanitarian Supply Chains, was made possible by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.
The report, which outlines findings from more than 100 touch points across the humanitarian, aviation, and logistics communities, finds that pre-crisis partnerships between companies, private philanthropies, and humanitarian organizations determine response capacity, and private sector resources in the form of donated transport generate value for the partners beyond budget relief. Using case studies from Airlink’s responses to Sudan’s ongoing humanitarian crisis and Hurricane Beryl in 2024, the researchers evaluated the opportunities and challenges posed by the private sector’s role in aid delivery.
“In 2025 and again in 2026, nearly 300 million people need humanitarian assistance, yet funding for essential programs is in decline globally, necessitating new approaches and partners to fill the gap; because millions around the world can’t afford to wait,” said Paloma Adams-Allen, President & CEO of Airlink. “This research report reinforces the model that Airlink has built over 15 years of disaster and crisis response globally: the private sector, and aviation in particular, have a critical role to play in our global humanitarian response systems.”
Airlink connects and multiplies the lifesaving impact of the aviation and humanitarian sectors—building efficient logistics solutions that accelerate disaster response, reduce costs, and equip communities with the right aid to recover quickly. CHORD is a joint venture with Kühne Logistics University (KLU), who bring together top academic research with operational training to improve social and economic progress in developing countries.
“Intermediary organizations are one of the mechanisms that help turn private-sector support into real response capacity. To unlock these partnerships’ full potential, humanitarian organizations, the private sector, philanthropy, and academia must work together to generate data-driven evidence to strengthen models that enable appropriate aid to reach communities faster, more reliably, and where it is needed most.” Mojtaba Salem, Assistant Professor for Humanitarian Operations and Management Practice at KLU.
The key findings indicate that while 95% of private-sector respondents have donated services since January 2024, only 32% have formal partnership frameworks or engagement policies in place, making their support less predictable, and hence reliable, for humanitarian actors engaged in disaster response. Further, private sector actors are 10% less willing to provide donated services to support a complex crisis or conflict than a sudden-onset disaster, which leaves many humanitarian organizations with insufficient capacity to provide relief to some of the most complex global crises.
This research report is also critical to understanding the role private logistics experts play in humanitarian response, and the roles that the private sector, philanthropy, and nonprofits must embrace to meet the immense needs around the world today.
“Airlink’s ability to reduce, on behalf of our humanitarian and aviation partners, burdens in compliance, demand, vetting, and documentation, are all value-adds beyond the cost-saving we offer via our no cost transportation and aid delivery,” said Adams-Allen. “Airlink’s model requires collaboration between humanitarian and private sector actors to make a response successful. To activate a disaster response partnership at a moment’s notice, we must collectively and intentionally build trust-based relationships and close the gaps between needs and good intentions.”
To read the full report, visit the link here.
Natalie Jacobsen
Airlink
njacobsen@airlinkflight.org
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