List of Local Technical Assistance Providers for Supporting Public Health Supply Chain Systems in the Philippines

The DOH has established a PSCM team to improve PSCM functions, including last-mile health commodity delivery to healthcare facilities, and a more integrated supply chain management system addressing PSCM in a comprehensive manner. The PSCM strategic objectives are to establish a more streamlined, unified, and cost-effective PSCM system, expand leverage of private-sector capability, develop more competent, professional, and accountable human resources for PSCM, ensure strong stewardship and functional oversight of PSCM, and establish a unified information system. The Philippines Republic Act No. 11223, also known as Universal Health Care (UHC) Act, devolved the national health system and placed more responsibility in terms of financial responsibility and supply chain authority on hundreds of individual Local Government Units (LGUs). The devolved health system was initiated after the enactment of the Local Government Code in 1991, mandated by the Philippine Constitution. The process of devolving the health system and national health budget continues to date, transitioning the health system and financial resources from the National Government Agencies to LGUs. Along with the DOH Devolution Transition Plan (DTP), and to align with UHC implementation at the LGUs, MTaPS is supporting the Government of the Philippines (GOP) to strengthen the health commodities PSCM reform and implementation at different levels of the system. One of the approaches to achieve this goal is to utilize the local technical assistance providers (LTAP) scheme, with the aim of creating a pool of institutions and individuals who can assist DOH, Centers for Health Development (CHD), and LGUs as local providers of PSCM services. The overarching goal of LTAPS is to create local capabilities to support PSCM system strengthening initiatives for the UHC law implementation in the Philippines. The objectives of LTAPS include introducing and advocating for an LTAPS scheme/marketplace with the government, identifying standard specifications to be included in government terms of reference (TOR) or requests for proposals (RFPs) for contracting local organizations to provide PSCM TA and/or direct PSCM services, and developing PSCM technical and leadership toolkits (curriculum). The LTAPS package collates both the GOP technical standards and currently available introductory learning resources that are recommended for potential LTAPs providers to be familiar with before engaging in PSCM service delivery or TA contracts with GOP. The topics currently covered include the public health supply chain technical modules of quantification, inventory management, eLMIS, and warehouse operations, and a leadership and change management course. Organizations can choose which PSCM technical areas to engage with as they consider direct service delivery and/or TA provision. It is envisaged that interested LTAPS organizations and individuals would be requested to attend orientation sessions and complete the relevant training material relevant to the PSCM technical area they wish to support the government with. The list of local technical assistance providers per technical area is provided in an accompanying Excel file titled “List of LTAPS Providers.” The file provides the contact details of potential LTAPs collected through MTaPS engagements, grouped according to capability areas and interest, aligned with the three tracks identified above.