Strategies for Navigating Health Commodity Procurement in Humanitarian Settings

The organization's prepositioning of medical commodities, led by Nikola Usenovic, Head of Global Procurement, has enabled International Medical Corps to be classified as an Emergency Medical Team Type 1 provider by the World Health Organization. This classification allows the organization to respond to disasters anywhere in the world within 48 hours. International Medical Corps' emergency preparedness and prepositioning strategies have evolved over the past decade. The organization has introduced several control steps to identify fake and substandard personal protective equipment (PPE), which are now standard procedures. Prepositioning critical medical supplies, including water, sanitation, and hygiene products, shelters, and communications equipment, is a vital part of ensuring timely response to crises, especially during rapid onset emergencies like earthquakes. During the Ebola outbreaks in West Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo, International Medical Corps negotiated with a major PPE manufacturer to secure an annual fixed price, leading to more accurate budgets and collaborative forecasting. The organization also established contractual obligations with suppliers to hold and keep fresh WHO and UNFPA kits, which has become part of their global blanket purchase agreements. Multiple blanket purchase agreements with USAID/Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance-prequalified suppliers have increased International Medical Corps' preparedness. International Medical Corps' emergency team was put to the test following a 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Haiti in August 2021. In coordination with the Pan American Health Organization, and funded by USAID|Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance, International Medical Corps deployed its emergency team and supplies to Haiti in less than 48 hours from getting the go-ahead. Some key lessons from this deployment include the importance of a modular approach when possible, packing dangerous, controlled, or cold-chain items separately, and mapping global presence, ability, and speed to import emergency goods to identify gaps and resolve them in advance. Effective supply chains depend on receiving the right goods at the right time while managing the right amount of risk. Procurement officers need to be aware of key challenges of procuring health commodities, reliable partnerships, especially in times of crisis, and rules and regulations of the local government and funding agency. The Building Capacity to Improve Pharmaceutical and Medical Commodity Management in Humanitarian and Disaster Settings Project, managed by JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. and funded by USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, aims to improve the capacity of people who manage health supply chains in humanitarian settings by equipping them with training, guidance, resources, and follow-up support.