Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Data

I can’t believe six months has already gone by, half way through the fellowship already. Cliché as it sounds time really is flying by.  We just finished our mid-year retreat for Global Health Corps here in Rwanda and it was great to see the GHC staff and fellows from Tanzania and Malawi. One of the really cool things we were able to do was cross site learning; discussing our work’s challenges and successes.

This year many of us are working on supply chain issues and one re-occurring theme that will impact my work for the next six month is supply chain data capture. This data capture is essential forecasting pharmaceutical and consumable needs, as well as tracking stock management improvements.  In many in country supply chains in the developing world, the management of supply chain information is insufficient impacting everything from the central medical stores to the patient.  Without adequate information the health centers, district pharmacies, and central medical stores are unable to manage the supply chain efficiently.

In light of these problems, my main project for the next six months is data collection and forecasting for the district of Burera. I’ll be supporting the district pharmacy in supervising the health facilities in the district (health centers and health posts). This supervision tracks consumption, as well as stock management data, thus improving supply data capture and assessing stock management. The hope is with regular data capture, the district pharmacy will have a better idea of the supply chain reality within the district, be able to track stock management improvements, and enhance supply chain data to improve forecasting of pharmaceutical and consumable needs.

As the Burera pharmacy manager and I often say ‘petit a petit’ or little by little. It sometimes feels daunting when you see all the of the challenges that in county supply chains are facing but hopefully in the next six months we can really make an impact little by little on the supply chain here in Burera.