USAID Global Health Supply Chain Programme Annual Report 01 October 2017 to 30 September 2018

The programme aims to advance an AIDS-free generation and contribute toward the achievement of universal health coverage. The GHSC implementing team is led by Guidehouse and includes several other organizations. The programme's focus for Year 2 was on implementing design work completed in Year 1, with a focus on providing continued concentrated support to the Affordable Medicines Directorate (AMD) within the National Department of Health (NDoH). The programme also expanded technical assistance to provincial departments of health in North West, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, and Limpopo provinces. Key activities and accomplishments include the implementation of Health Technology Assessments (HTA) and Rational Medicine Use. HTA is a process used to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of health technologies, including medicines. The programme assisted with the implementation of HTA, which involved conducting assessments of various health technologies to determine their effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. Rational Medicine Use is a key objective of the programme, which aims to ensure that medicines are used in a way that is safe, effective, and cost-effective. The programme implemented various activities to promote rational medicine use, including training healthcare workers on the use of essential medicines and providing support to the AMD to develop and implement policies and guidelines for rational medicine use. The programme also made significant progress in improving contracting and contract management, which is critical for ensuring the effective delivery of medicines and other health commodities. The programme implemented a new contracting framework, which aimed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of contracting processes. In addition, the programme made progress in designing a supply chain operating model, which is a critical component of the programme's efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the supply chain. The programme implemented a new supply chain operating model, which aimed to improve the planning, procurement, and distribution of medicines and other health commodities. The programme also made progress in strengthening governance, which is critical for ensuring the effective delivery of medicines and other health commodities. The programme implemented various activities to strengthen governance, including providing support to the AMD to develop and implement policies and guidelines for governance. The programme's workforce management activities also made significant progress, with a focus on developing standardized structures, roles, and competencies for the AMD and other stakeholders. The programme implemented various activities to support the development of standardized structures, roles, and competencies, including training and capacity-building programmes for healthcare workers. The programme's information systems and information management activities also made significant progress, with a focus on designing an IT system landscape and providing support to strengthen analytics and oversight. The programme implemented various activities to design an IT system landscape, including the development of a new IT system for managing medicines and other health commodities. The programme's financial management activities also made significant progress, with a focus on improving forecasting and budget information, strengthening accounting processes, and improving financial monitoring and reporting. The programme implemented various activities to improve forecasting and budget information, including the development of a new forecasting and budgeting system. Overall, the USAID Global Health Supply Chain Programme in South Africa made significant progress in Year 2, with a focus on implementing design work completed in Year 1 and expanding technical assistance to provincial departments of health. The programme's key activities and accomplishments include the implementation of HTA and rational medicine use, improving contracting and contract management, designing a supply chain operating model, strengthening governance, workforce management, information systems and information management, and financial management.