Professionalizing Public Health Supply Chain Management

1. Improving Health Outcomes through Professionalizing the Management of Public Health Supply Chains Tracey Brett Head of Procurement and Logistics Marie Stopes International Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition Membership Meeting, Kampala

2. Purpose Highlight the impact on health outcomes caused by poor management of public health supply chains Describe a new initiative to improve professionalization of supply chain management Request your support Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition Membership Meeting, Kampala

3. Importance of Supply Chains • Health programs require health supplies • Health supplies must reach service points and clients through long and complex supply chains • Weaknesses in the supply chain result in health supply shortages • Supply shortages are widely recognized as a significant limiter of health outcomes Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition Membership Meeting, Kampala

4. Case Study: Zambia • Pilot study in Zambia - strengthened supply chain staff at processes at central and district level in trial districts • Found immediate and dramatic impact on child mortality • Drugs availability: • ~ 40% in control districts • ~ 80% in trial districts Potential Impact from Scale-up: • Child mortality from malaria could be cut by up to 37% • 27,000 additional children could be saved by 2015 Source: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTZAMBIA/Resources/Brochure-Zambia_201004.pdf Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition Membership Meeting, Kampala

5. Supply Chains are People Chains Leadership SUPPLIES FLOW LOGISTICS INFORMATION FLOW Logistics Management & Pipeline Report Central Medical Stores Central Stores Manager Warehouse Report & Order Intermediate Warehouse Warehouse Manager Health Clinic Report & Order Health Clinic Clinic Pharmacist or Nurse Report of Community Based Distributor Community Based Distributor (CBD) Community Health Worker Adapted from: USAID | DELIVER PROJECT CLIENTS Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition Membership Meeting, Kampala

6. Challenge Unqualified and disempowered staff managing public health supply chains Poor availability of health commodities at facilities, wasted resources Underper-forming health programs and unachieved health goals Supply chains poorly managed and insufficiently resourced Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition Membership Meeting, Kampala

7. What does Professionalization of Supply Chain Management mean? • Recognition that supply chains are critical components of public health systems, whose management requires specific competencies • Recruitment and retention of appropriately qualified supply chain managers • Availability of broadly recognized certifications and pre-service training in public health supply chain management Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition Membership Meeting, Kampala

8. Systems Strengthening WG • Workstream: Professional Development of Public Health Supply Chain Managers created in 2008 • Promotes professionalization of supply chain management • Seeks to build engage broad array of health programs and organizations for aligned, integrated approach • Includes several non-RHSC members • Seeks additional involvement from RHSC members Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition Membership Meeting, Kampala

9. Objectives • Recognition among key international and national agencies that: • strong supply chain performance is requisite for positive health outcomes • supply chains are complex systems whose management requires significant technical and managerial capacity • Harmonization across agencies on required competencies, certifications, and pre-service programs for supply chain management • Governments and national institutions demand technically qualified staff for positions with supply chain management responsibilities • Governments and national institutions provide supply chain managers with appropriate career tracks, support and incentives • Cadres of qualified, professional supply chain managers working at national and sub-national levels Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition Membership Meeting, Kampala

10. Approach • Involve a broad array of key stakeholders • Promote harmonization of approaches across health programs and health organizations at different levels • Promote professionalization that acknowledges and accommodates the diversity of roles that individuals who manage supply chain may have Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition Membership Meeting, Kampala

11. Activities • Publish White Paper on RHSC approach (December 2009) • Develop online searchable database of professional development opportunities for supply chain management • Conduct advocacy to promote professionalization within public health organizations • Foster alignment of donors, multilateral organizations, technical agencies and governments on required competencies and certification and pre-service training programs Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition Membership Meeting, Kampala

12. Harmonization & Advocacy Process • Stakeholder consultations • Global positioning meeting with policymakers from government and international organizations to seek buy in on need for professionalization and agreement to align approaches • Technical committee develops recommended key competencies and strategy for certification and pre-service programs • Policy committee provides guidance, approves recommendations, promotes implementation in-country Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition Membership Meeting, Kampala

13. Benefits • Greater recognition of supply chains as a critical strategic component of effective health systems • Higher profile for supply chain managers within organizations, enabling good supply chain policy-making and decision-making • Cadres of qualified, professional supply chain managers working in public health institutions at national and sub-national levels Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition Membership Meeting, Kampala

14. What can you do? • Engage with us: • Provide feedback today • Join the workstream • Help us with our advocacy effort • Attend the global positioning meeting in early 2011 • Email me or kpilz@usaid.gov • Advocate within your organization to support professionalization • Participate the RHSC process to unite & align our approach to professionalization White Paper Link: http://www.rhsupplies.org/fileadmin/user_upload/SSWG/RHSC_Professionalizing_SCM_White_Paper_1.pdf or google “professionalizing supply chain management” Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition Membership Meeting, Kampala