The Health Logistics Press, August 2012

As part of this campaign, actress Debra Messing toured Voluntary Counseling and Testing clinics in Lusaka and attended the opening ceremony for the New Start Center in Mongu. The campaign also focuses on increasing awareness and access to HIV testing, with Alere donating one Determine HIV test to Population Services International (PSI) for every person who "likes" the campaign's Facebook page. The Ministry of Health (MOH) is overseeing three storage facilities installed to address storage constraints in three districts. The U.S. Government handed over two prefabricated storage units for Kafue and Gwembe District Health Offices, enabling improved commodity management. The facilities are now able to store commodities in central locations, reducing the need for makeshift storage arrangements. The MOH has also taken ownership of the facilities, with Permanent Secretary Dr. Peter Mwaba urging colleagues to be good ambassadors in service delivery. The USAID/Zambia Mission Director, Dr. Susan Brems, visited the Kateshi Rural Health Center in Kasama District, coinciding with World Malaria Day. The visit followed up on the performance and impact of the DELIVER project on malaria prevention and treatment. The center reported availability of essential medicines and malaria RDTs, with Dr. Brems congratulating the facility on its efforts to treat all malaria patients in the last year. The mission director emphasized the critical role of RDTs in successful diagnosis and treatment of malaria. The Ministry of Health is addressing storage challenges for vaccines, with the Essential Medicines Logistics Improvement Programme (EMLIP) training 21 districts. By the end of 2012, six additional districts will be trained, totaling 27 EMLIP districts. The roll-out has been progressing at a rate of one district per month, with the selection process considering an approach that trains an equitable number of districts among provinces. JSI was awarded a special recognition certificate for its outstanding contribution to a decade of antiretroviral treatment in Zambia, acknowledging its contributions through the USAID | DELIVER PROJECT in increasing ARV availability and training health staff in commodity management. The USAID | DELIVER PROJECT has determined that the pool of 18 MOH and partner trainers for the National HIV Test Logistics System was insufficient to meet training demands. A Training of Trainers (ToT) was held to bolster the number of qualified trainers, with 20 participants successfully trained, bringing the total number of trainers to 38. The project aims to ensure an effective logistics system with the right commodities, at the right time, and in the right place, relying on well-trained and knowledgeable staff to implement it effectively.