Capacity Building in Supply Chain Management of ARV Drugs and HIV Tests

SCMS procures and distributes essential medicines and health supplies, works to strengthen existing supply chains in the field, and facilitates collaboration and the exchange of information among key donors and other service providers. SCMS is an international team of 16 organizations funded by the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The project is managed by the US Agency for International Development. In FY15 Q2, SCMS delivered $126 million in products through 979 shipments to 30 countries. A record-high $54 million in products was delivered in March. On-time delivery (OTD) also reached record-high percentages throughout the quarter: 83 percent in January, 86 percent in February, and 88 percent in March. Every product group had an OTD above 80 percent in March; labs achieved 92 percent OTD, driven by performance improvements in field office managed procurement. Health systems strengthening performance against target continues to improve, while the scope of reporting continues to expand. This quarter, almost 14,000 sites from 19 countries reported, and four of five SCMS-supported in-country performance measures have exceeded targets. In collaboration with USAID | DELIVER, the Global Fund, and other partners, SCMS assisted Ghana after a fire at the central medical store (CMS) led to the loss of $110 million in uninsured products. The Ghana regional distribution center is serving as an alternative, short-term storage facility for pharmaceutical products being supplied after the fire. SCMS hosted the first-ever World Health Organization Technical Working Group on HIV Diagnostic Global Demand Forecast to exchange information on procurement and forecast data; discuss methodologies, limitations, and policy guidelines used to model forecasts; and agree on next steps to prepare for a WHO-hosted meeting with diagnostic manufacturers in April. Shortages of Atzanavir/Ritonavir due to limited manufacturing capacity caused potential and actual stockouts in several countries during the quarter. Several quality issues with manufacturers and wholesalers were identified, including a recall of products due to nonconformities at the active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturer, North China Pharmaceutical Group Semisyntech Co., Ltd. The transition of the procurement of HIV rapid diagnostic tests to Remote Medical International, the newly-appointed USAID Global Health Supply Chain Program contractor for this product category, has begun. The current plan is to complete this transition by July 1 and make final deliveries for SCMS-managed shipments around October 2015. For several key products in Zambia and Uganda, challenges continue to emerge in maintaining stock levels and avoiding stockouts. As the project heads toward its final delivery deadlines, SCMS expects an increase in the number of unplanned orders. Key statistics for FY15 Q2 include the value of commodities delivered ($126.3 million), the number of deliveries (979), and the countries receiving shipments (30). The percent generic ARVs by value was 95%, and no counterfeit products were detected. In terms of health systems strengthening, almost 14,000 sites from 19 countries reported, and four of five SCMS-supported in-country performance measures have exceeded targets. The Ghana regional distribution center is serving as an alternative, short-term storage facility for pharmaceutical products being supplied after the fire at the central medical store (CMS).