Pillar II breakout groups: Key action points identified

1. Pillar II breakout groups:Key action points identified Karen Newman RHSC June 2011

2. Country Ownership and Commodity Quality • Inform and advocate to governments on issues relating to product quality and procurement as well as supply systems to facilitate informed decision-making • Promote dialogue within and between regional groupings and other international bodies on common approaches and appropriate standards that would allow mutual recognition and cross-border trade. • Learn lessons from GFATM and others about innovative and effective approaches to procurement and commodity strategic planning for affordable, available and quality-assured products.

3. Defining resource needs at country level • Emphasize that investing in reproductive health programmes and supplies is smart policy, and yields value for money, going beyond related health benefits to positively affecting wider environmental and socio-economic development priorities • Co-ordinate across sectors to financially plan and effectively meet the increasing demand for reproductive health supplies • Engage with district level decision-makers and implementers, and address health worker issues such as task shifting, training etc. to maximize efficiency and cost effectiveness

4. Human Resources for managing supply chains • Human Resource strengthening for supply chain managers is a cross-cutting issue for all health sectors • Supply chain strengthening should be part of overall health sector strategy for human resource management • Adopt a dual approach which includes: - • Building supply chain components into basic training and development for health care workers; • Building a cadre of health supply chain professionals • Move towards a holistic focus on building Human Resource capacity for Supply Chain Management (training, supportive supervision, monitoring, incentives, etc), to obtain, train and retain supply chain professionals

5. Co-ordination at Country level and Stewardship of the State • Co-ordinate the work of all key actors: public, private, NGO, by: • Appointing a high-level chair of coordination within government • Facilitating private sector co-ordination • Promoting coordination at lower (district) levels • Creating a “Community of Practice” for sharing experience across sectors, produce guidance documents, etc • Developing training programmes for public and private providers • Incorporate private sector service data into Health Monitoring Information Systems. • Implementing public/private partnerships for service delivery, eg contracting out, etc. • Incorporating social marketing programmes and data within national reproductive health strategic plans to maximize effective coverage.

6. Strengthening the Supply Chain • Donors need to earmark funding for supply chain logistical strengthening • Shift from vertical donor support for commodities to integrated Logistics Management Information Systems, which may involve support for integrated systems from basket/sector-wide funds, rather than for the commodities themselves • Expand the definition of commodity security to include medical equipment and ancillary supplies (consumables) • Strengthen capacity-building for LMIS, especially for “the last mile”. This includes in-service training in the essential basics of logistics for pharmacists and other health care workers

7. Country Ownership: Advocacy and Demand • Base more advocacy on research and evidence • Include clients and service providers as advocates • Connect national/local to global – e.g. Maputo Plan, UN Sec Gen’s Global Strategy, UNFPA’s Global Programme

8. Across the Groups: Country Ownership means: - • Taking stock of key partners and stakeholder groups in RH at national level, including government, media, traditional and religious leaders, young people, parliamentarians, etc, defining roles, and setting benchmarks • Achieving a shared understanding of what country ownership means and how different stakeholders can engage and be engaged by government • Developing a transparent health and development policy environment in which reproductive health has a clear role • Ultimately: Defining, developing and building capacity for government stewardship of the health sector as a whole – including building the capacities of private providers, NGOs, civil society and other key stakeholders, to arrive at shared responsibility for a ‘whole sector approach’ to both policy development and service delivery.