Evaluation of the logistic and supply components of the Northern Sudan primary health care project

Evaluation covers the period 1978-9/80 and is based on site visits, document review, and interviews with USAID/S and Government of Sudan (GOS) officials by an outside review team. The project has been plagued by logistical and supply problems. The 25 project vehicles (carry-alls) received to date were fielded without being inspected by a mechanic or checked against purchase order specifications. Maintenance is inadequate -- 25% of the vehicles were out of commission after 3 months of use, in part because only 12 of 14 crates of spare parts were delivered to the Central Medical Stores (CMS) in Khartoum from Port Sudan. GOS medical supplies are also stalled at Port Sudan. In addition, many parties to the project--USAID/S, the GOS, the Ministry of Health, and the contractor, Medical Service Consultants, Inc. (MSCI)--are poorly informed of project progress and activities. Lengthy, although unavoidable, personnel vacancies have impeded project implementation, and the sound advice offered by the MSCI logistics/supply advisor has often been ignored. It is therefore recommended that: (1) newly received vehicles be compared against purchase order specifications and checked for proper mechanical operation before being issued to the field; (2) vehicles already in the field be properly maintained; (3) project trucks be used to transport medical supplies currently stalled at Port Sudan; (4) the two crates of spare parts lost in Port Sudan be located and promptly forwarded to the CMS; (5) project personnel at the national level meet regularly; (6) vacant project staff positions be filled on a timely basis; and (7) the efforts of the MSCI logistics/supply consultant be supported.