Developing a Health Sector National Supply Chain Strategy

Public health sector systems in developing countries face a common challenge in providing effective and assured supply chain services for health products (medicines, supplies, etc). This book provides an approach that can be adapted at country level, in which policy, strategies are developed and applied leading to design and implementation of an integrated national supply chain strategy. A national supply chain strategy will capture and integrate all the traditional functions of procurement and supply chain services, from planning (product selection, forecasting, quantification, budgeting) to procurement, storage and distribution. The key players responsible and accountable for developing and implementing this strategy remains the lead health sector office, and the central medical stores that is mandated to manage health products for health programmes. An effective national supply chain strategy will enable governments to achieve of their commitments to Universal Health Coverage.