Humanitarian Assistance in G5 Sahel: Social Sustainability Context of Macrologistics Potential

Abstract

The G5 Sahel works in collaboration with various international organizations and countries, which are responsible for managing logistics activities, financial flows, and technological solutions. Humanitarian assistance holds a critically important role in the region, despite its multiple challenges and limitations in macroeconomic development. This research aimed to examine the macrologistics potential of humanitarian assistance and protection, on both national and transnational levels, in the social sustainability context. Most of the humanitarian emergencies in the region originate from conflicts, food insecurity, and malnutrition. Sahel countries require multiple initiatives to minimize the negative effects of climate change and natural disasters. The state of logistics infrastructure, a wide range of natural and man-made disasters, as well as the macroeconomic situation of the G5 Sahel, result in common problems with the organization of humanitarian logistics from the national and transboundary perspectives. Based on the selected indicators, identified problems of humanitarian assistance and protection in G5 Sahel suggest that the above-mentioned potential of logistics activities requires tightening of transnational collaboration.

1. Introduction

Africa is a continent with rich history and unique natural resources, but endless civil conflicts and military uprisings, bad governance, and insecurity are basic obstacles to achieving sustainability and economic advancement [1,2,3,4,5]. The G5 Sahel (G5S) is an example that shows how the five-country members decided to defend their Sahelian space. This collective defense effort originated from the Malian civil war in 2012, which caused unpredictable instability across the Sahelian region. The conflict between the rebelling Tuareg people and the government’s army progressively reached such border countries as Niger and Burkina Faso. The operation of different terrorist groups and drug smugglers became the most problematic at that time. The most active terrorist groups in the region remain Boko Haram, the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAWA), the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the Islamic State in Greater Sahara (ISGS), Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), Ansar-Dine, and Al-Mourabitoun [6,7].

Humanitarian assistance is of the highest importance in the G5S, yet, in the context of limitations in security and basic living conditions, humanitarian response must be treated as an operation before lifesaving, which can tackle the catastrophic existence of the most vulnerable inhabitants of Sahel. There are multiple aspects of logistics activities on the national and transnational level with room for improvement, from the perspective of macroeconomic potential in the social sustainability context. Research in the field suggests factors that could ensure the creation of successful, human-friendly, human-oriented, and sustainable places [8] that compose social sustainability, such as safety, justice, health, social inclusion, fair income distribution, active community organizations, cultural aspects, etc. [9]. This social dimension of sustainability fits the humanitarian assistance and protection concept [10]: “Societies that do not meet basic human needs are expected to receive support through proper national policies and activities” [10]. Thus, there is a justified need for wide cooperation and concentration of proper entities (such as governments or regional associations) on creating adequate institutions that could cover humanitarian challenges, combat or minimize natural disasters’ effects, and include human dignity in economic development as well as ensure resilient infrastructure. This creates social sustainability context that could define and explore national and transnational challenges in humanitarian activities.

Countries and regions in need aim to receive humanitarian assistance and protection, which, in the long term, might transform into development aid [11]. All three types of humanitarian aid (in-kind, technical, and financial) require logistics support provided by different types of stakeholders. A wide range of connections among various HAs makes it challenging to synchronize and coordinate logistics activities on a macro scale. Such a perspective has not been widely discussed in the subject literature and reports from the field. The role of the state in humanitarian aid distribution in African countries has been discussed by Kessler [12], while Marcinkowski [13] discussed the place and role of the regional association in the case of ASEAN. Hence, it is required to explore the macrologistics perspective on the activities undertaken in humanitarian assistance and protection in the social sustainability context. Macrologistics can be understood as the highest-level field of logistics that requires its contribution to at least the level of the national economy [14]. In addition, the infrastructure and policy dimensions of macrologistics direct academic discussion on integration issues, as well as services standardization and the deployment of technologies for particular industries or trade in general [14,15]. A set of developed and proposed measurement tools for national and international logistics activities uphold the macrologistics field of research through supporting sustainable development [14], flows forecasting, analyses of timeliness and cost impact on selective attributes [16,17], as well as designing functional national policies (such as national transportation policy). Macrologistics itself is a key driver for strategic management of the national logistics industry, enabling infrastructural and investment shifts in the economy. In the freight logistics context, it might be also treated as a useful tool for trade-offs analysis and systemic measurement that foster sustainability (both in national policies and SDGs) [18]. Macrologistics can also contribute to reducing freight costs, the acceleration of digital transformation on the national level [19], or increasing environmental awareness, as suggested by Stojanović, Ivetić, and Veličković [20], who assessed Incoterms^® rules from the perspective of CO₂ emissions from transport. Nevertheless, macrologistics factors might have an impact on logistics commitments for exporters and importers that can substantially improve the logistics competitiveness of a country [21]. The Logistics Performance Index (LPI) is seen as a useful indicator for assessing national logistics commitments in exports and imports, especially when correlated with Incoterms^® rules [21]. A significant cognitive contribution has been made by Havenga, Witthöft, and Simpson [22], who proposed macrologistics instrumentation of national freight logistics costs which addresses the logistics challenges of a country. The authors proved that domestic investments in intermodal solutions can reduce logistics costs and improve domestic and international competitiveness [22]. The macrologistics perspective in the activities undertaken tends to increase economic growth, improve quality of life, protect resources, or shape spatial structures [15], thus fitting the concept of social sustainability.

Including the above-mentioned perspective on the humanitarian assistance and protection, it can be stated that humanitarian logistics can be approached as the coordination of processes involving the flow of aid-oriented goods, services, people, and financials, along with the accompanying information associated with the difficult situations experienced by the society in a particular area, as a result of the occurring temporary or long-term activities they do not influence, to provide them with assistance (and to eliminate or reduce the effects of the occurred events) effectively and efficiently [13]. Therefore, the macrologistics potential in humanitarian assistance and protection in the social sustainability context is defined as an opportunity for national and/or joint transnational humanitarian logistics activities cooperation. Tightening intranational and transnational activities synchronization and coordination is crucial for the effectiveness and efficiency of humanitarian assistance and protection ventures, as well as the successful fostering of social sustainability inclusion. Hence, the state of logistics infrastructure development, effects of disasters on the economy and society, the state of the economy, dependency on the humanitarian and development aid, transparency and quality of authority, expenditures on public health, the education system, and demographics [13,23] are the main determinants of macrologistics’ potential measurement in the social sustainability context, both on the national and transnational level.

The adaptation of the macrologistics approach to the humanitarian aid sector with social sustainability agenda aims at:

• In a theoretical manner through designing macrologistics management tools and instruments to synchronize and coordinate flows among various stakeholders (humanitarian actors—HAs) on a national, transnational, and global scale, as well as the identification of (humanitarian) macrologistics challenges to ensure social sustainability;
• In a methodological manner through developing a quantitative and/or qualitative method or group of methods to measure macrologistics potential in the humanitarian aid sector in the social sustainability context;
• In an empirical manner through the establishment of national, transnational, and global partnerships for humanitarian logistics activities’ synchronization and coordination, aid distribution professionalization, increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of macrologistics management in the humanitarian aid sector.

The approach to humanitarian logistics presented above spots a research gap in the forms of:

• Theoretical gap: the deficit of macro perspectives on logistics activities in humanitarian assistance in the social sustainability context, which forms a foundation for the identification of macrologistics’ potential;
• Methodological gap: the need to determine the triangulation of quantitative and qualitative methods to measure that potential;
• Empirical gap: there is a small number of analyses of transnational cooperation in the field of humanitarian assistance from the common macrologistics and social sustainability perspectives.

The paper aims to examine the macrologistics potential of humanitarian assistance and protection in the social sustainability context on the national and transnational levels. Hence, the article aims to answer the following research question: what is the macrologistics potential of humanitarian assistance and protection in G5S that can ensure social sustainability?

The article is composed of six consecutive sections. Section 1 contains an introduction with general remarks on the analyzed fields, as well as gaps and goal identification. Section 2 refers to the G5 Sahel’s landscapes in the social sustainability context of humanitarian assistance. Section 3 contains material and methods characteristics. Section 4 presents the results and discussion, while Section 5 contains conclusions and further research directions. There is also an additional sixth section with Appendix A with indicators used in the analysis.

2. Social Sustainability Context of Humanitarian Assistance—G5 Sahel’s Landscapes

2.1. Institutional Landscape of G5 Sahel

The uprising tensions made the Group of G5S countries sign up for official collaboration on 16 February 2014, in Nouakchott (Mauritania), as an intergovernmental agreement of five Sub-Saharan African countries—Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chad [24,25]. The strategic goal of the initiative was to enhance development and security in the region, with the focus on the most basic challenges in three domains [26,27]:

• Political, especially problems related to deficiencies in governmental management, law compliance, and human rights protection;
• Security, related to the increase in terrorist activity in the region, extremist violence and organized crime, and unpredictable threats of climate change usually resulting from deforestation of rural areas or massive migrations of people, causing severe local conflicts;
• Development, mainly associated with endemic poverty, unrestrained demographic growth, and weak socio-economic flexibility.

To accomplish its daily mission, the G5S works in collaboration with various international organizations and countries responsible for managing logistical, financial, and security assistance. The initiators of the G5S, in the preamble of its establishment convention, put a strong emphasis on achieving an efficient organizational setup that should play an indispensable role in the execution of the agreed tasks. Moreover, the intergovernmental cooperation framework for the G5S is permanently headquartered in Nouakchott (Mauritania).

Logistics activities for humanitarian assistance and protection in the G5S are characterized by dispersed competencies. From the macrologistics perspective, it generates organizational challenges, both strategically and operationally. There are five working organs in G5S responsible for planning and organizing work for the representative members, with a focus on improving peace and sustainability. These organs form a core of logistics coordination and synchronization for humanitarian assistance and protection, due to the low quality of the logistics infrastructure and the geographic dispersion of vulnerable people. The organs of the G5S are [28]:

• The Conference of the Heads of the State—the supreme institution of G5S playing the role of a decision-making body with the responsibility of setting up its strategic objectives and directions. In the ordinary session, the Conference operates once a year, but in the case of an emergency, extraordinary meetings can be held.
• The Council of Ministers—an organ that unites representative ministers in charge of economy and development in all five member countries.
• The Executive Secretariat—this body operates under the umbrella of the Council of Ministers. It is directly responsible for managing strategic interfaces, administrating common fund financing, and providing operational guidance by monitoring and evaluating the agreed strategy.
• The Defense and Security Committee—this Committee is generally in charge to control the border spaces of the region against all types of terrorist groups and criminal armies.
• The National Coordination Committees of the G5S Actions—is an interdepartmental structure situated in all five-member states coordinating developed strategies and actions.

There is also one additional organ—The Meeting of Experts—which is not a part of the five organs numbered above. In practice, it regroups various experts in areas of defense and security, governance, and infrastructure from the five member countries of the G5S. On 2 July 2017, with strong international support from France, the Sahelian Group of Five established its military Joint Force (FC-G5) to fight terrorism and other transnational threats. The G5S Defense and Security Committee elaborated on the strategic concept (CONOPS) regarding operations for FC-G5S. It was mandated to [29,30]:

• Combat terrorism, drug, and human trafficking; to create a secure environment by eradicating the actions of Terrorist Armed Groups and other organized criminal actions; and to restore security and peace by following international law;
• Contribute to the restoration of state authority and the return of displaced persons and refugees;
• Facilitate humanitarian operations and the delivery of aid to the affected populations;
• Contribute to the implementation of development actions in the area of the G5S.

2.2. Humanitarian Landscape of G5 Sahel

In the last 10 years, the rapid deterioration of the Sahel crises created the need for humanitarian aid across the entire region at an unprecedented scale [31,32]. The most important drivers of humanitarian emergencies have been connected to conflicts, food insecurity, and malnutrition. The dramatic consequences of conflicts are related to the armed violence on the civilian population. The region of Burkina Faso and Niger, which borders Mali, has become a place of rising armed attacks that devastated communities and made hundreds of thousands of people flee their homes. Mali and the Lake of Chad Basin have been also recognized as regions with conflict hotspots. In Mali, conflicts are spreading from the north to the central parts of the state. More than 5.1 million people live in areas that are affected by insecurity [33]. Rising terrorist violence caused more people to leave their homes than ever before. At the beginning of 2020, almost 4.5 million people in the region were internally displaced as refugees—one million more than in 2018. At the same time, 2.5 million returnees were coping with restoring their lives [33].

According to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the term security means both the traditional state-centric notion of the survival of the state and its protection from external and internal aggression by military means, as well as political, economic, social, and environmental imperatives, in addition to human rights [34]. Insecurity and terrorist attacks have been the main source of disruption in the functioning of the basic social services [35,36]. Due to the lack of security at the beginning of 2020 only in Mali, 1.129 schools, 338.700 children, and 6.774 teachers were affected [37]. It should be pointed out that children remaining out of school education and associated with the armed forces are usually the first victims of different terrorist recruitments and the violations of their rights [38]. UNICEF demands to respect children’s rights and avoid their imprisonment or use as a measure of last resort, as it permits only actions within the framework accepted by internationally agreed standards for children [39]. Violence and extremism have caused the rise of an informal economy that functions based on illegal trade and exchange of goods such as trafficked drugs, illegitimate weapons, and black-market sales. Such a situation causes additional tensions and problems leading to the marginalization of new groups of the Sahelian population. An informal economy fuels criminal behavior and opens an easy recruitment path for young people to make ends meet for themselves and their families. It causes opportunities for terrorist organizations because the response of some central governments towards expectations of vulnerable populations is not often sufficient. Leaders of various groups of Islamic terrorism try to use strategies that appear very pervasive and trustworthy to local people [40]. The lack of basic needs and services such as protection, water, sanitation, healthcare, and unresolved conflicts among local communities help armed terrorist groups to spread their power and demands over the region [41]. In addition, the inability of some Sahelian states to maintain border security makes the area additionally completely out of control [26]. In the same sense as humanitarians struggle for bringing assistance and relief to Sahelian’s vulnerable inhabitants, governments, especially those associated with the G5S, should recognize their strong sights in fighting terrorism and violence. There is a lot of expectation from the establishment of the G5S Joint Force to tackle the most neuralgic sources of regional instability. However, it seems that military strategies might additionally complicate humanitarian activity, which prefers dialog and coordination between humanitarian and military actors [42,43,44]. A reasonable form of dialog might be the only chance in persuading local communities and those conflicted ethnic groups that governments play an essential role in protecting their lives. Operating on solid foundations of political trustworthiness and border security in vulnerable areas should be regarded as particularly important, due to the provision of public goods, such as health centers, clean water supplies, education, communication, and information technology infrastructure or sanitation facilities.

Food insecurity and malnutrition are the additional reasons why the Sahel calls for international humanitarian assistance [34,45,46,47,48]. The African Sahel belongs to the most vulnerable places in the world at risk of crises and disasters. Eighty percent of its population depends on natural resources for their livelihoods, which rely on farming and herding livestock. The recent climate change proves that the region has been experiencing a rise in average temperature, bigger rainfalls, and more frequent droughts. All those natural phenomena created unprecedented land degradation/desertification, erosion, an increase in biodiversity loss, a decrease in water supply both for people and animals, and decreases in human health and quality of life [26]. The poor rains in the region made the lean seasons begin earlier and last longer. It caused many pastoralists to start migrating with their herds to search for new pastures earlier than usual. Farmers typically used to welcome herders since their cattle and gouts fertilized cultivated croplands. Yet, when they arrive too early and stay too long, intercommunal violence follows as a result. In consequence, not only does meat and milk production decline, but food prices also dramatically increase. Worsening food security and malnutrition seriously affect children. In 2020, over 5.4 million children living in Burkina Faso, Chad, Gambia, Mali, Mauretania, Niger, Nigeria, and Senegal suffered from malnutrition, including 2.4 million in its extreme form [44]. It is expected that malnutrition will remain or even become more serious if effective counteractions are not applied. In addition, the lack of proper healthcare, access to water, sanitation, and other basic social services have a direct impact on the nutritional state of the most vulnerable. The increase in recent epidemics in the region (cholera in Niger and Chad, yellow fever in Mali, measles in Burkina Faso and Chad, and COVID-19 in the entire G5S) also impact vulnerability among the most endangered populations.

It is beyond doubt that improved support by the international community is of unquestionable necessity in the region. Most of the Sahelian governments are overwhelmed. They lack the skills, structures, and technologies to cope with the issues of legitimacy. Almost all the countries are located on huge expanses of land. Chad is bigger than the space of France and Germany together. Large spaces and lack of capacity result in security deficiencies. According to the UN reports on humanitarian crises in the Sahel, the lack of international support would leave the region with the following problems [33,49,50]:

• Over 1.5 million children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) will not receive the proper treatment they need;
• The absence of water, sanitation, and hygiene services (WASH) will affect the rise of epidemics;
• People living in insecure areas will face sexual and gender-based violence, especially in refugee camps;
• Thirty million people will risk being cut-off from life-saving assistance and experience deep vulnerabilities, half of them being women and girls, who are potential victims of gender-based violence;
• Millions of children staying out of school education, both due to COVID-19 as well as violence, will become easy targets of enslavement and forced recruitment;
• Communities struck by the consequences of climate change will not be able to handle shocks and loss of their livelihoods and increasing conflict risks;
• Inadequate shelter and congested living conditions will make families experience multiple unpredictable risks;
• The COVID-19 health emergency risks causing suffering, aggravating and creating new needs in zones already occupied by conflict and food insecurity.

2.3. Environmental Landscape of G5 Sahel

The G5 Sahel countries are located in semi-arid area. The region stretches between the arid Sahara (desert) to the north and the belt of humid savannas to the south. The semi-arid steps of the region have natural pasture, with low-growing grass and tall-growing herbaceous perennials. The thorny shrubs, acacia, and baobab trees also serve there as other forage for the region’s livestock such as camel, pack ox, grazing cattle, and sheep. Primarily, the thorny shrub formed a woodland, but now, the area forms more open land. The terrain has a dangerous tendency to merge into the desert because of overstocking and overfarming. The dry season lasts at least eight months. The wet season occurs in June, July, and August with an average of 100–200 mm rainfall in the north and 500–600 mm in the south. There are also wide areas of pasturage which are watered by the flooding of the Niger and Senegal rivers [51].

The average temperature range is between 21.9 and 36.4 °C, with relatively cooler temperatures in the mountainous areas of northern Chad, Niger, and Mali and the coastal zone of Mauritania. The region has been experiencing the intensity of regular droughts and megadroughts, which always lead to the lack of food security and migrations of people to other parts of the continent. Located in the west-central Sahel, Lake Chad lost approximately 50% of its water over the last 50 years. The basin borders four African countries: Chad, Niger, Nigeria, and Cameroon. In this part of the region, the Lake has always been the main source of water not only for surrounding flora and fauna but also for over 30 million neighboring people. The shrinking of the Lake created several conflicts because those bordering countries argued over the rights to the remaining pieces of the water. In addition, there is an ongoing debate on the main causes of the lake’s evaporation. It seems to be obvious that the main reason for this fact is climate change, which is treated as one of the basic challenges to environmental benefits from African agroforestry [52]. However, it should be emphasized that unsustainable usage of the lake both by governments and local communities over the years resulted in the lake to be over-used and not restored. Not only droughts but also irregular heavy rainfalls caused by climatic variations in some years cause severe land degradation. It usually erodes the surface of the fields and housing soils. Furthermore, the water supply and landscape irrigation are complex issues in the Western African Sahel, especially due to performance with surface water and reused wastewater [53]. Very sensitive vegetation of the semi-arid zone and lack of forests constitutes another challenging field for Sahelian space [54], especially when water governance is still being developed [55].

Soils in the region are nutrient-limited and at the risk of degradation. In recent decades activities such as overfarming, overgrazing and soil erosion have caused serious desertification in the region [56]. It is scientifically proven that desertification often occurs as a result of the combination of drought and the lack of proper land management. It usually takes place in hyper-arid, arid, semiarid, or sub-humid areas, dependent on precipitation. The lack of proper environmental governance and abandoning developmental measuring have turned a major part of Sahel into barren land. Ensuring food and agricultural security is far more justified in the region with constant humanitarian challenges. Interestingly, certain types of agricultural households are more exposed to conflicts; therefore, social inclusion is undoubtedly necessary [57]. It should result in livelihood improvement through the development of agroforestry in the context of its climate-smart context to face environmental challenges [58]. The application of the above-mentioned context in technologies led to increased food production, especially in places where food insecurity is one of the main categories of disasters [59]. Nonetheless, climate change has an impact on Sahelian agriculture. The research suggests that, up to 2050, agricultural production will be below 50 kg per capita, which would crop import and regional migration [60].

Increased temperatures, droughts, prolonged dry periods, and increased frequency of extreme climate events cause such risks as rapid land degradation and deforestation; declines in the density of trees/shrubs; loss of key ecosystems, ecosystem services, and biodiversity; reduced water levels, impacting biodiversity and the composition of flora and fauna in aquatic ecosystems; and loss of tourism potential. At present, approximately 50% of Chad, 65% of Mauritania and Mali, 80% of Niger, and most of the northern parts of Burkina Faso are within the Sahara Desert boundaries, which have been expanding into the Sahel at a rate of 1–10 km per a year. The migrating sand covers viable agricultural lands, which has resulted in migrations of people and, consequently, the intensification of resource requirements due to the settlements of more people on the remaining arable land. The intensification of drought events not only becomes a serious threat to drying out the land and water resources, but it is also vital for the survival of many species of flora and fauna, including migratory birds that use the Sahel as a stopover before crossing the Sahara Desert. It is beyond any doubt that the Sahel countries require a wide range of activities to minimize the negative effects of climate change and natural disasters: “The rapid deterioration of the Sahel crisis has driven humanitarian needs across the region to unprecedented levels. Conflict, climate shocks, chronic vulnerabilities, and endemic poverty are putting millions at risk” [33]. The International Disaster Database prepared by the Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters—CRED [61] (it is the most accurate and widespread disaster database that relies on official reports) informs that, for the period 1900–2021, there were 336 natural disasters in the G5S. Among them, there were 68 droughts, 13 flash floods, 62 riverine floods, 3 convective storms (hail, severe storm, and tornado), and 116 diseases (such as cholera, meningitis, meningococcal disease, hepatitis E, dengue, Ebola, measles, Rift Valley fever, yellow fever, COVID-19), 9 grasshopper infestations, 13 locust infestations, 1 landslide (in Chad 2019), and 51 other natural disasters (such as acute watery diarrheal syndrome, rats). All of them resulted in over 225 thousand deaths and over 88 million people affected.

The key natural disasters that require humanitarian aid in the G5S in the last 10 years are [33] (some of the data refer to the entire Sahel region, including far North Cameroon, Northeast Nigeria, and Senegal):

• (2012) Drought and food crisis affecting 18 m people, when Mali government was overthrown, that caused the displacement of thousands of people;
• (2017) Famine alert with around 2 m people facing hunger;
• (2019) Flood in Chad affecting 200,000 people;
• (2020) 24 m people in need of humanitarian assistance and protection, 4.3 m people uprooted from homes, food insecurity among 12.3 m people in the lean season; COVID-19 pandemic began, first cases confirmed in all G5S nations;
• (2021) Spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, insufficient or lack of vaccination.

2.4. Macroeconomic Landscape of G5 Sahel

Analysis of the G5S situation requires a broader view of its place, role, and importance in sub-Saharan Africa. The region is not highly developed, so understanding the essence of economic development is conditioned by several indicators and measures. They help to position the region in the structure of the continent and global economy. Figure 1 presents the variability in the gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the period from 2009 to 2025 (the last four years of the analysis are forecasts). Significant annual fluctuations are visible, including a slowdown in GDP growth from 2010 to 2016. The situation related to the COVID-19 pandemic caused a 1.7% decline in GDP in 2020, while the positive rebound in the following years (between 3.8–4.5% increase) is quite optimistic. GDP based on the purchasing–power–parity (PPP) share of the world in the analyzed period is 3.0% [62].

Sub-Saharan Africa is affected by several risks to international supply chains. These risks are of fundamental importance for the economic development of states and indicate areas for improvement in public, private, and non-governmental sectors. The most significant risks include poor infrastructure (almost 36%), corruption (23%), government instability (over 18%), and terrorism (9%) [63].

At the same time, based on the responses of supply chain professionals, the key growth factors of the logistics industry in Africa can be identified. The authors of the “Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index” asked the study participants the question: “What do you perceive to be the most significant driver of growth in the emergence of Africa’s logistics market?” [64]. The results show several key factors that are crucial for the logistics sector over the years 2016 to 2018. The respondents chose the following drivers of growth in the African logistics industry [64]:

• Growing middle class and consumer spending (23.9% in 2016, 31.9% in 2018);
• Mineral and resource demand (23.8% for both years);
• Rapid structure development (13.6% and 21.4%, respectively);
• New oil and gas discoveries (22.6%, 8.1%);
• Stronger agricultural demand (11.5%, 9.5%);
• Increased FDI (4.6% and 5.2%, respectively).

Focusing on the region of sub-Saharan Africa makes it possible to distinguish key sectors of the economy that can facilitate the growth of the logistics industry. The authors of the same report asked the question: “Which of the following vertical sectors do you believe have the greatest potential for future growth in emerging markets?” The analysis shows that the most important is [65]:

• Mining (almost 27%);
• Humanitarian aid (almost 18%);
• Agriculture (over 17%).

Thus, the above-presented drivers of growth in the logistics industry across the African continent indirectly correspond to one of the macrologistics factors, namely, the improvement in domestic and international competitiveness. An increased demand, potentially higher supply of fossil fuels, growing income, and consumer spending, as well as investment potential constitute a set of drivers that gives a chance for a strategic improvement in the domestic and transnational logistics industry. However, such improvement could be hampered by the high proportion of humanitarian aid in sub-Saharan Africa. The Inter-Agency Coordinated Appeals suggest that 235 million people worldwide need humanitarian assistance and protection within 2021. The United Nations agencies in cooperation with humanitarian organizations aim to help 160 million people worldwide, which constitutes two-thirds of the global needs. It requires USD 35 billion of funds [66]. In terms of the G5S, four of them require increased humanitarian aid and protection [33]:

• Burkina Faso (3.5 m people in need, 83% targeted, USD 607.4 m requirements);
• Mali (7.1 m people in need, 82% targeted, USD 498 m requirements);
• Niger (3.8 m people in need, 58% targeted, USD 500 m requirements) [66] (Figures for Niger are provisional);
• Chad (5.3 m people in need, 57% targeted).

The COVID-19 pandemic strengthened the need for humanitarian aid and protection in the G5S, increasing the total number of people in need by two-thirds within a year [66].

2.5. Infrastructural Landscape of G5 Sahel

The poor infrastructure tends to impede any kind of logistics operations supporting humanitarian aid and protection [67]. The scale of infrastructure development in G5S nations has been presented in

Table 1. G5S infrastructure from the perspective of humanitarian assistance and protection. Own elaboration based on: [33,61,67].

Country	Infrastructure	Dominant Disaster Types	Seasonal Effects on Transportation
Burkina Faso	- Road transport: 15,000 km of roads (17% paved roads) - 80% of imports and exports are carried by road - Rail transport: decisive for the economy, one main rail line Abidjan–Ouagadougou - Air transport: 12 airports (2 international), but facilities are in disarray - Water transport: no access to the Ocean	- Natural disasters: drought, epidemics, flooding, insect infestation. - Man-made disasters: civil strife, refugees, industrial accident, transport accident.	- Secondary road transport and air transport: not every place is accessible during the rainy season
Chad	- Road transport: 40,000 km of roads - 4800 km of rivers (over 40% accessible all year) - Rail transport: no railway facilities. - Air transport: 53 airports (one international) - Water transport: Chari and Logone rivers.	- Natural disasters: drought, epidemics, extreme temperatures, flooding, storm, insect infestation, high waves, wildfires, high winds, deforestation. - Man-made disasters: civil strife, international conflict, internally displaced people, refugees, landmines, transport accidents.	- Primary and secondary road transport: impassable during the rainy season, some roads are unpaved - Air transport: many secondary airports are inaccessible during the rainy season - River transport: navigable only during the rainy season
Mali	- Road transport: 138,000 km of roads - Rail transport: one main rail line: Dakar–Bamako - Air transport: 22 airports (two international) - Water transport: no access to the Ocean.	- Natural disasters: drought, epidemics, extreme temperatures, flooding, insect infestation. - Man-made disasters: international conflict, internally displaced people, refugees, landmines, industrial accidents, transport accidents.	- Primary road transport: corridors are used all year; however, the rainy season in neighboring countries may cause impassability of roads. Some of the roads are not accessible during the rainy season. - Secondary roads are impassable during the rainy season - Rail transport: railway distortion due to high temperatures - During the dry season: sandstorms, limited visibility - River transport: Niger is navigable during the rainy season
Mauritania	- Road transport: 8900 km of roads (30% paved roads) - Rail transport: one long railway line - Air transport: 10 airports (three international) - Water transport: two Ocean ports and one river port	- Natural disasters: drought, flood, storm, epidemics, insect infestation. - Man-made disasters: transport accidents.	- No available information
Niger	- Road transport: 19,000 km of roads (21% paved roads) - Rail transport. no operational railway - Air transport: 24 airports (3 international) - Water transport: navigable Niger river	- Natural disasters: drought, epidemics, extreme temperatures, flooding, storm, insect infestation, wildfires, and high winds. - Man-made disasters: civil strife, international conflict, internally displaced people, refugees, landmines, transport accidents, industrial accidents.	- Primary road transport is vulnerable during the rainy season (poor drainage and insufficient maintenance) - Secondary roads are impassable during the rainy season - During the rainy season, there may be perturbations (lack of drainage) - Air transport: During the dry season sandstorms, limited visibility - River transport is not suitable for humanitarian cargo

, which contains country profiles in terms of the logistics infrastructure and humanitarian logistics background that creates a framework for a potential macrologistics assessment.

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Research Procedure

The research follows an idiographic paradigm and inductive reasoning, applying a blend of qualitative and quantitative methods. It starts from specific observation and identification of research needs, searching through tentative observation of patterns that lead to the identification of theoretical contributions [68]. It conducts a case study including all five-member countries of the G5S.

First, the literature review explores insights into transnational humanitarian logistics problems in the analyzed region. To measure the macrologistics potential of humanitarian assistance and protection in the G5S in the social sustainability context, two quantitative methods were applied (see Figure 2). The first one is an indicator analysis, which helped to form a macrologistics perspective (see Appendix A). The second one is the application of multidimensional scaling. This method was adopted based on a two-step procedure to visualize ordering results proposed by Walesiak [69] and on the identification of the impact of individual variables:

• The visualization of objects in two-dimensional space has been performed, and linear ordering has been conducted [69]. It identified distance from the pattern object of G5S member countries in terms of the macrologistics potential in the social sustainability context;
• Multidimensional scaling has been implemented, which allowed for the assessment of the individual variables on the macrologistics potential.

In general, the visualization of objects and linear ordering depends on a proper choice of the research area to be analyzed, the selection of objects, the list of variables (in this research, it is the first part of the quantitative analysis—indicator analysis), stimulants and destimulants identification (see Appendix A), implementation of pattern object and anti-pattern object, strengthening the measurement scale with GDM2 distance, distance calculation, and multidimensional scaling [69]. The GDM2 distance (as a distance from the pattern) is calculated for ordinal data based on the following equation [69,70]:

$$\begin{gathered} 1-GDM{2}_i^{+}=\frac{1}{2}+\frac{{\sum }_{j=1}^m{\alpha }_j{a}_{iwj}{b}_{wij}+{\sum }_{j=1}^m{\sum }_{\begin{array}{c}l=1\\ l\ne i,w \end{array}}^n{\alpha }_j{a}_{ilj}{b}_{wlj}}{2{\left[{\sum }_{j=1}^m{\sum }_{l=1}^n{\alpha }_j{a}_{ilj}^2\times {\sum }_{j=1}^m{\sum }_{l=1}^n{\alpha }_j{b}_{wlj}^2\right]}^{\frac{1}{2}}} \\ {a}_{ipj}\left(b_{wrj}\right)=\{\begin{array}{c}1 if x_{ij}>x_{pj}(x_{wj}>x_{rj})\\ 0 if x_{ij}=x_{pj}\left(x_{wj}=x_{rj}\right)\\ -1 if x_{ij}<x_{pj}\left(x_{wj}<x_{rj}\right)\end{array} \\ \mathrm{for} p=w,l; r=i,l \end{gathered}$$

(1)

where:

• $GDM{2}_i^{+}$ is a GDM2 distance from a pattern (anti-pattern) for $i$;
• $x_{wj}=x_{+j}\left(x_{wj}=x_{-j}\right)$ for $GDM{2}_i^{+}\left(GDM{2}_i^{-}\right)$;
• $x_{+j}\left(x_{-j}\right)$ coordinate $j$ of a pattern (anti-pattern);
• $i,l=1,\dots ,n$—object number;
• $j=1,\dots ,m$—variable number;
• ${\alpha }_j$—the weight of the variable (${\alpha }_j\in \left[0;1\right]$ and $\sum _{j=1}^m{\alpha }_j=1$ or ${\alpha }_j\in \left[0;m\right]$ and $\sum _{j=1}^m{\alpha }_j=m$).

Nonetheless, the visualization of objects in two-dimensional space with the identified distance from the pattern is normalized based on the distance of $d_i^{+}$ from the pattern for i [69]:

$$d_i^{+}=\frac{\sqrt{{\sum }_{j=1}^2{\left(v_{ij}-v_{+j}\right)}^2}}{\sqrt{{\sum }_{j=1}^2{\left(v_{+j}-v_{-j}\right)}^2}}$$

(2)

where:

• $d_i^{+}\in \left[0;1\right]$
• $\sqrt{\sum _{j=1}^2{\left(v_{ij}-v_{+j}\right)}^2}$—Euclidean distance from the pattern for $i$;
• $\sqrt{\sum _{j=1}^2{\left(v_{ij}-v_{+j}\right)}^2}$—Euclidean distance of the pattern from the anti-pattern.

The objects of research are ordered according to increasing values of the distance measure (2) and visualized [69]. Then, the final part of the analysis is conducted, which refers to the assessment of the variables chosen for the linear ordering. To conduct a multidimensional scaling, the ‘smacof’ package for R software was used [71]. In the beginning, all variables were firstly normalized in the range [0, 1] (the normalization occurred in the form: ((x-mean)/max(abs(x-mean))) in ‘clusterSim’ package designed for R software (R version 4.1.0, The R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria)). Then, the Generalized Distance Measure was calculated. As with the linear ordering, the ordinal scale (GDM2) has been chosen with equal weights [71]. The visualization of objects, linear ordering, and assessment of individual variables have been performed through the adoption of ‘clusterSim’ and ‘smacof’ packages designed for R software.

3.2. The Social Sustainability Context of Macrologistics Potential—The Structure of Indicators

The approach to measuring sustainable development through Sustainable Development Indicators [72,73], World Development Indicators [74], and ratios with measures referring to the humanitarian assistance and protection obtained by ReliefWeb [75] were included in the research. The list of the selected indicators and their importance for macrologistics potential is presented in Appendix A, while in the next paragraphs, the authors have discussed the general justification for group identification. The combination of the idiographic approach with indicator analysis used in the paper creates methodological triangulation, which is “the combination of methodologies in the study of the same phenomenon” [76].

The macrologistics perspective on humanitarian assistance and protection in the social sustainability context requires a wide, national (macro) look at the studied issue. Hence, the conducted analysis is a matched modification of the humanitarian logistics composite indicator [13]. Such an update and clarification were required, due to the specific conditions of the G5S: low level of economic development, poor infrastructure (especially in transportation), the number and intensity of chronic disasters and humanitarian crises, as well as early stage of joint, transnational activities. Having in mind those limitations, the following groups of indicators to measure the macrologistics potential of humanitarian assistance, reflected in the level of social sustainability, were identified: transportation, economic development, humanitarian and development aid, transparency and quality of authorities, public health, education, and demographics (see Appendix A). The authors of the paper would like to remark on the substantial challenge and perspective included in the analysis. The focus on the humanitarian assistance context with the social sustainability inclusion results in the specified approach of macrologistics understanding. As stated in Section 1, we have focused on the analysis of its potential, which is defined as an opportunity for national and/or joint transnational humanitarian logistics activities cooperation. The logistics costs analysis has been excluded from the macrologistics potential identification, as it should include in-depth freight flows analysis that, in the humanitarian context, can be analyzed in the further steps of G5S integration. Another challenging issue refers to the domestic and international competitiveness that, in humanitarian assistance activities, is not recognized as a crucial factor.

The transportation group of indicators constitutes a prerequisite for logistics cooperation in counteracting, minimizing, and eliminating disasters and crises’ consequences. The humanitarian point of view is focused on the critical infrastructure, which affects the success of execution [77]. Therefore, it proves the predisposition of states in humanitarian assistance and protection activities, with a focus on difficulties in providing aid, such as seasonal effects on the type of transport or mortality in road traffic. The Logistics Performance Index [74] used in that group is a classical type of macrologistics indicator which assesses a country’s logistics. The next group of indicators, economic development, is focused on macroeconomic determinants for which logistics is a balancing tool [78]. In a humanitarian context, the cooperation of entities involved in logistics operations results in wide economic cooperation [12]. The lack of financial resources inhibits the country’s development and, therefore, the creation of crisis management plans [79]. Hence, official development assistance (ODA) plays an important role in the development of humanitarian logistics [12]. Countries with strong public administrations are better prepared to implement effective solutions [80], though transparency and quality of authority groups of indicators are included in the analysis. Nonetheless, the public sector is fundamental in aid provision, especially in the field of public health [81], which constitutes another group of indicators. The share of physicians, nurses, and midwives informs about the possibilities for efficiently dealing with the negative effects of disasters and humanitarian crises. Additionally, the shares of people using at least basic drinking water and sanitation services, adolescent fertility rate and share of mortalities from various diseases, unsafe water, sanitation, lack of hygiene, or ambient air pollution indicate the challenges for HAs and social sustainability on the national level. A similar situation is with an education system that is crucial for the long-term stability of the country’s security and development [82]. Finally, the demographics group represents one of the key determinants of human development. Researchers suggest that the urbanization level impacts the number of disaster reports [80] which may be crucial in low-income countries, such as in the G5S. In addition, internal migrations in lower classes tend to propel lower-standard constructions, which increase the vulnerability to hazards [79].

4. Results and Discussion

4.1. Linear Ordering of Macrologistics Potential in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection

Based on the selected indicators, the authors focused on ordering G5S states in terms of macrologistics potential in the field of humanitarian assistance and protection in the social sustainability context. The number of indicators obtained encouraged the authors to analyze the distance from the pattern object (two-step procedure proposed by Walesiak [69]). Therefore, the ‘clusterSim’ package designed for R software has been adopted [83]. The data_patternGDM2 has been used to group G5S nations from the best to worst as a distance from the pattern. Its wide range of ordinal and nominal variables included in the analysis (see Appendix A) allowed for defining optimal values. The results are presented in Figure 3.

Based on the analysis presented above, we can observe that three clusters define the level of macrologistics potential (The authors are fully aware that clusters should consist of a wider number of observations. However, even a small number of them may constitute a set of similar objects which can be grouped together and then analyzed. This was the idea behind the analysis). Cluster 1, which is closest to the reference site, includes Mauritania. It is the only country in this regional association not affected by cyclical humanitarian crises. Statistical data and reports do not indicate the occurrence of people in need, and also, in terms of infrastructure, the country is better prepared to cope with the negative effects of disasters, e.g., through wide access to logistics infrastructure (including maritime infrastructure). Cluster 2 (Burkina Faso, Mali) shows an average level of macrologistics potential from the perspective of the entire regional association. Nevertheless, it highlights certain issues that affect the effectiveness of humanitarian logistics operations in the tactical and operational dimensions. At the same time, the situation is hampered by the impact of dry and rainy seasons on the possibility of fully using the logistic infrastructure of each country. Cluster 3 provides direct information on the very low level of macrologistics potential of both member states: Niger and Chad. The number of people in need, the low level of logistics infrastructure, the susceptibility to the negative impact of the dry and rainy season on its quality, and issues related to the economy, society, public health, and the quality of public institutions directly complicate the implementation of humanitarian logistics operations and impede social sustainability. Identified clusters constitute a set of different potentials for ensuring macrologistics development. Each cluster requires specific macrologistics instruments that might enable reducing logistics costs and improving domestic and international competitiveness. Nonetheless, such instruments cannot be detached from the humanitarian challenges affecting G5S.

4.2. Multidimensional Scaling of Macrologistics Potential in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection

The analysis carried out above was supplemented with multidimensional scaling, which allowed for the identification of the impact of individual variables on the position of a given country in terms of its macrologistics potential in the area of humanitarian assistance and protection in the social sustainability context. The authors wanted to emphasize the negative role of particular variables on the above-mentioned macrologistics potential, related to technological limitations (The focus on the negative role of the variables is a result of the negative impact of disasters on communities and the economy. This impact is the modus operandi for humanitarian assistance and protection activities. Nonetheless, the positive role of variables may be also identified and is presented in the summary of multidimensional scaling for each G5S nation). The results are presented in Figure 4, while correlation coefficients are presented in

Table 2. Correlation coefficients. Source: own elaboration with RStudio software.

Variable Identifier *	Dimension 1	Dimension 2	Variable Identifier *	Dimension 1	Dimension 2
TRANSP1	−0.95287	0.265976	AUTHORIT4	0.442082	0.806737
TRANSP2	−0.12912	0.683301	AUTHORIT5	0.528504	0.436117
TRANSP3	−0.86975	−0.25072	AUTHORIT6	0.388185	0.837952
TRANSP4	−0.94644	0.139479	PUBHEAL1	−0.95637	0.326654
TRANSP5	0.110341	−0.13455	PUBHEAL2	0.788549	0.002244
TRANSP6	0.411617	0.365841	PUBHEAL3	0.977298	−0.05399
ECODEV1	0.775331	−0.49521	PUBHEAL4	−0.48927	0.3574
ECODEV2	0.854162	−0.45683	PUBHEAL5	−0.86616	−0.1921
ECODEV3	−0.82718	0.359972	PUBHEAL6	−0.89353	−0.21968
ECODEV4	0.768194	0.094206	PUBHEAL7	0.401033	0.418724
HUMAID1	−0.51303	0.862059	PUBHEAL8	0.675396	0.141341
HUMAID2	−0.75408	0.277483	EDUCAT1	−0.95426	0.170469
HUMAID3	−0.56917	0.503547	EDUCAT2	−0.66903	0.565477
HUMAID4	0.153398	0.462217	EDUCAT3	0.854729	0.049722
HUMAID5	−0.76851	−0.52889	DEMOGRA1	−0.07014	−0.96964
AUTHORIT1	0.375631	0.722487	DEMOGRA2	0.880992	0.127152
AUTHORIT2	0.68733	0.197955	DEMOGRA3	0.760165	−0.02007
AUTHORIT3	0.59479	−0.70934	DEMOGRA4	0.886318	0.208495

* See Appendix A for variables identification.

. The number of iterations is 19.

The following variables are associated with the first dimension: TRANSP1, TRANSP3 TRANSP4, ECODEV1, ECODEV2, ECODEV3, ECODEV4, HUMAID2, HUMAID3, HUMAID5, AUTHORIT2, AUTHORIT3, AUTHORIT5, PUBHEAL1, PUBHEAL2, PUBHEAL3, PUBHEAL5, PUBHEAL6, PUBHEAL8, EDUCAT1, EDUCAT2, EDUCAT3, DEMOGRA2, DEMOGRA3, and DEMOGRA4 (see Appendix A for variable identification). Those variables represent all the variables indicated in the indicators’ groups of macrologistics potential for humanitarian assistance and protection in the social sustainability context. The higher the value of a given variable, the higher the impact on the macrologistics potential. Thus, the seasonal effects on road, air, and water transport have a huge negative impact on humanitarian aid distribution in the G5S. The same situation occurs with a low level of foreign direct investments (FDIs), increasing the number of people in need, as well as refugees and asylum-seekers. The negative impact on macrologistics potential also include those variables referring to the public health group, such as adolescent fertility rate, mortality rate attributed to unsafe water, unsafe sanitation and lack of hygiene, household, and ambient air pollution. In addition, the negative role is also visible in the field of high levels of adolescents out of school. The second dimension refers to the variables: TRANSP2, HUMAID1, HUMAID3, HUMAID5, AUTHORIT1, AUTHORIT3, AUTHORIT4, AUTHORIT6, EDUCAT2, and DEMOGRA1 (see Appendix A for variable identification). The low levels of these variables suggest the high negative impact on macrologistics potential of humanitarian assistance and protection in a social sustainability context. Among such variables, the following may be distinguished: people living in slums, as well as political instability and the existence of violence and terrorism.

The above-presented positive and negative impacts of particular variables on macrologistics potential in the humanitarian assistance context create interesting cognitive and applicative fields for in-depth analyses contributing to improving domestic and international competitiveness. It constitutes a quantitative framework explaining ontologically the dependencies of the humanitarian context in the logistics industry. However, as in the linear ordering part of the research, the general conclusions for each G5S nation may be identified:

• Mauritania received the highest positive impact of variables qualified in Dimension 1 while a negative impact on those qualified in Dimension 2.
• Burkina Faso received a positive impact of variables qualified in both Dimensions.
• Mali received a negative impact on variables qualified in Dimension 1 but a positive impact on those qualified in Dimension 2.
• Niger received the highest negative impact of variables qualified in Dimension 1 but a positive impact on those qualified in Dimension 2.
• Chad received a negative impact of variables qualified in both Dimensions.

5. Conclusions

All aid interventions should be based on the coherence between emergency and development, stopping the state of insecurity and fostering social sustainability. The G5S includes five Sub-Saharan African countries, which have been recognized among the world’s most vulnerable countries and those most exposed to crises and disasters. The effects of unpredictable weather patterns, land degradation, food insecurity, and malnutrition are over any comprehensible norms. Additionally, the unstable political situation and uprising terrorist activity have put the region in a hopeless situation. The decline in governance increases distrust among people towards the authorities. The needs spread across all the segments of the Sahelian existence and cannot be reduced only to people’s access to basic social services and security; they should also consider humanitarians’ decreased access to affected communities. Maintaining restrictive security regulations makes humanitarian assistance suspicious in many cases. However, the government of Mali tries to be more flexible toward transnational humanitarian organizations, unlike Niger or Burkina Faso, where all humanitarian regulations are more restricted. However, France, whose willingness to engage in Mali is beyond any doubt, keeps an evident refusal in contact with non-state army groups (NSAGs), which confines humanitarian negotiation proposals.

The infrastructural underdevelopment of the G5S is visible in the low shares of paved roads, the small number of rail lines, air transport facilities in disarray, two ocean ports, and a few big river ports. It is insufficient for effective and efficient distribution of humanitarian aid, as well as ensuring social sustainability. The seasonal effects on transportation in each country intensify the difficulties in providing humanitarian assistance and protection. Regional cooperation is undoubtedly one of the key factors of effective humanitarian logistics operations on a transnational level. The political nature of such collective co-existence tends to improve security and is related to development constituting a social sustainable perspective. A widespread humanitarian need in the G5S that results from conflicts, food insecurity, and malnutrition determined the regional cooperation of nations. The idea of the “survival of the state and its protection” ceased to be the only function of a given state. Climate change, desertification, rising armed attacks, and food and water insecurity created a need for unprecedented humanitarian assistance to reduce and/or eliminate malnutrition, illegal trade and exchanges of goods, internal/external migration, and secure people’s right to dignity and safety. Access to services such as protection, water, sanitation, or healthcare is of utmost importance for G5S citizens. For these reasons, humanitarian aid is one of the main vertical sectors with the greatest potential for future market growth and social sustainability development in sub-Saharan Africa.

Thus, from the perspective of the research question, it can be stated that the G5S is in the first stage of joint transnational humanitarian logistics activities that could enable social sustainability. The quantitative analysis underlined the three different levels of macrologistics potential of the G5S nations in the field of humanitarian assistance and protection in the social sustainability context. The highest level of readiness for joint tasks and leadership in the regional association is presented by Mauritania. This country should be a shepherd and transnational coordinator of humanitarian logistics activities that could manage domestic and transnational logistics activities. However, additional in-depth logistics costs analysis should be conducted to assess Mauritania’s ability to reduce entire the G5S’s logistics costs. Although domestic or international competitiveness is not a key issue in humanitarian assistance, such identification in the humanitarian context might lead to greater preparation for activities in the regional association. In addition, attention should be paid to Niger and Chad, who require wider international assistance in providing humanitarian and development aid. Burkina Faso and Mali, which are better assessed in macrologistics potential, cannot be left alone in dealing with chronic natural disasters and military conflicts or in dealing with domestic logistics costs, especially while having underdeveloped infrastructure resulting in low competitiveness level of each country. When it comes to the readiness of the humanitarian assistance to enhance its logistic capabilities with social sustainability, there is still room for improvement and further pilot implementations. Identified problems of humanitarian assistance and protection in the G5S from the perspective of macrologistics suggest that the above-mentioned potential of logistics activities require tightening transnational collaboration.

In conclusion, the research gaps in the macrologistics approach to humanitarian logistics in the social sustainability context identified in Section 1 have been addressed as:

• A theoretical gap in defining the macrologistics potential in humanitarian assistance and protection in the social sustainability context, as well as identifying humanitarian macrologistics challenges;
• A methodological gap in the combined use of quantitative and qualitative methods to measure that potential;
• An empirical gap in an analysis of transnational cooperation in the G5S in the field of humanitarian assistance and protection from the macrologistics perspective.

The research conducted by the authors therefore gives valuable input into existing research of macrologistics potential in the humanitarian context enabling for assessment of national and joint transnational humanitarian logistics activities cooperation. Such a perspective lacks logistics cost analysis, and in consequence, the assessment of domestic and international competitiveness. It requires additional research to be performed in the field of humanitarian freight flow analysis. Assessing externality costs [18] and providing a systemic view of the G5S freight logistics landscape, as proposed by Havenga, Witthöft, and Simpson [22], is a desirable direction for the further in-depth analysis of G5S international logistics competitiveness in the humanitarian context. Consequently, a few other limitations of the paper can be identified. The analogous research of macrologistics potential should be conducted in other transnational groups (regions or regional associations) to determine and delimitate the stages of joint transnational humanitarian logistics activities to ensure social sustainability. Such research could help to identify a broad set of utilitarian indicators that are independent of the local conditions (e.g., in the G5S, the seasonal effects on the type of transport) but could foster social sustainability. In addition, it should be added that the geopolitical situation related to the war in Ukraine will have a meaningful influence on humanitarian logistics among others in the African Sahel. At the beginning of 2022, the Malian authorities, remaining in an uneasy and ongoing conflict with France, and more broadly with the EU, decided to leave the G5 Sahel and its anti-jihadist force, accusing the organization of being too regulated by “the outside world”. After the announced departure of Mali from the G5 Sahel, Russia took advantage of offering private security from Wagner’s group. Russia’s military partnership with Mali’s army causes very difficult conditions for European cooperation, not only in the area of military defense but also in humanitarian missions. This additionally opens a new area of research.