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Background: The study focuses on the challenges encountered during the distribution of food and face-mask items during the first COVID-19 lock-down by various relief supply chain actors.

Methods: Data were collected from forty (40) relief actors through online (via Zoom and telephones) and face-to-face interviews, between January 2021 to March 2021. Data was coded based on per-determined themes after which it was further processed using Atlas ti. v7.57 to generate patterns.

Results: The study established challenges related to needs identification, procurement, warehousing, transportation, handling, beneficiary verification, and last-mile distribution. Additionally, the media and politics coupled with the emergence of new actors and governance issues were part of the challenges identified.

Conclusions: The identified challenges were internal and external to the relief supply chain; hence actors could have control over some while others were beyond their control. The findings could inform practitioners and policymakers on what challenges are likely to affect their operations, especially during a pandemic, and design appropriate coping mechanisms.

This paper aims to examine the interconnectedness between stakeholder expectations (SE), inter-organizational coordination (IOC) and procurement practices within humanitarian organizations (HOs) based in Uganda.

Employing a quantitative cross-sectional design, data were gathered from 43 HOs and analyzed using SmartPLS 4.0.8.3. Variance-based structural equation models (VB-SEMs) were employed to examine both direct and indirect effects.

The findings show a significantly positive relationship between SE, IOC and procurement practices. Additionally, the mediating role of IOC in the relationship between SE and procurement practices is evident.

While this study offers insights into procurement practices in HOs, the use of a quantitative approach might limit capturing dynamic changes over time. Future research could benefit from a nuanced approach involving interviews and longitudinal studies to uncover incremental changes.

During relief management, HOs need to understand their SE through information sharing and capacity building. This understanding can aid in selecting procurement practices that align with SE and ensure the delivery of relief.

Leveraging stakeholder theory, this research contributes to the understanding of how SE and IOC influence the adoption of procurement practices in HOs during relief delivery.

Globally, health care facilities often fail to respond quickly to health emergencies, resulting in significant deaths. Thus, the study examines the mediating effect of logistics capabilities in the relationship between co-evolution, organization capacity building and operational agility.

SmartPLS 4.0.8.3, variance-based structural equation models (VB-SEM) were used to test direct and indirect hypotheses across 45 health facilities. The respondents were 140 nurses and doctors. Disproportionate stratified simple random sampling was used based on government and private health facilities in Kampala City, Uganda.

A significant and positive relationship exists between logistics capability and operational agility. However, co-evolution and organizational capacity are intimately linked to operational agility via logistics capability.

A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted using self-administered questionnaires. The results did not show any variation in the operational agility of health facilities during emergency management; thus, qualitative approaches are needed.

During emergency management, health facilities need to cooperate by sharing information, building capacity to increase their responsiveness and flexibility. This should be done by sharing equipment, tools, drugs and medical supplies, and we hope to encourage joint medical research.

A complex adaptive systems (CAS) framework is used in this study to examine how co-evolution, organizational capacity building and logistical capability relate to the operational agility of healthcare during times of emergency.