supply chain

ABSTRACT Our review of the Office of the Inspector General’s audit reports revealed that limited tracing, stockouts, and expired commodities were the main supply chain-related challenges plaguing Global Fund grants in 2019–2020. A lack of proper documentation practices is the main cause of limited tracing, stockouts, and expired health commodities.

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic created many challenges for the supply of health products and commodities, ranging from higher prices being charged for personal protective equipment, to border closures, and bans on the export of medicines. Pharmaceutical systems in African countries should draw from this experience to prepare for potential health crises. The Chief Executive Officer and the Director of the Technical Expertise and International Training division at Centre Humanitaire des Métiers de la Pharmacie (CHMP) explain these challenges and outline future priorities.

ABSTRACT Procurement via the pooled procurement mechanism and Wambo.org reduces the purchasing capacity of national agencies and deprives them of resources necessary for their survival and activities. Those agencies then inflate the prices of commodities that are not subsidized, which raises equity questions for those requiring treatment for other diseases.

ABSTRACT Access to medicines and quality health products to ensure healthy populations is a global issue. As 60% of the Global Fund’s financial resources are earmarked for health products, managing the supply chain is crucial given the increase in demand (the scaling-up of ARV treatments, changes in treatment directives, new diagnostic technologies and a growing number of treatment centers). This will necessarily involve reforming the supply chain, aligning partners with a common roadmap, and government leadership in developing countries, say senior experts from the Centre Humanitaire des Métiers de la Pharmacie.

ABSTRACT According to a joint progress report by the Secretariat and the OIG, the number of open and overdue Agreed Management Actions (AMAs) was at an all-time low since 2014 when the OIG started tracking closed AMAs systematically. However, some AMAs have remained overdue for years because of changing political environment in the affected countries, developments at the Global Fund, and unforeseen complexities in the implementation of the AMAs.

ABSTRACT As of 31 August 2018, overdue agreed management actions were at their lowest level since the Office of the Inspector General started systematically tracking and reporting on the implementation of AMAs in 2014. This information is contained in a progress report prepared for the Board by the OIG and the Secretariat. All AMAs related to three areas – CCM processes, grant closure and risk management – have been closed.

ABSTRACT Niger has made significant progress against HIV, TB and malaria in a ‘challenging operating environment’, but the Office of the Inspector General, in its first-ever routine audit of Niger’s Global Fund grants, found problems in the supply chain, in the use of data, and in the coverage, quality and coordination of supervision.

ABSTRACT A new audit of grants to Myanmar by the Office of the Inspector General shows that the country is making good progress in its fight against the three diseases, thanks in part to increased financial commitments from the government and initiatives to extend health care coverage. However, there are increasing concerns about how Myanmar can best plan for sustainability, optimize resources and bridge gaps in service quality.

ABSTRACT The Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) is the government body authorized to procure and distribute Global Fund-supported health commodities. KEMSA obtains competitive prices compared to the Global Fund’s Pooled Procurement Mechanism, stock-outs of health commodities happen rarely, and orders are delivered on time. This article shows how – in some cases – a country’s independent procurement, if well managed, can work as well as the Fund’s pooled procurement.

ABSTRACT The Global Fund has made considerable progress in many areas, the Office of the Inspector General says in its 2017 annual report, and has reached a point where many of the remaining challenges are beyond the ability of the Fund, acting alone, to resolve. Supply chain issues and quality of services top the list of challenges.