Country Overview

Uganda’s General Population HIV prevalence rate was 6.4 percent in 2004/2005 according to the Uganda National Sero Survey; this is a sharp decrease from over 20 percent in the 1990s.

The Government of Botswana has declared HIV/AIDS a national emergency. Committed to an aggressive, comprehensive and expansive multisectoral response to curb the impact of the disease, the country has adopted a compelling, long-term vision to have no new HIV infections by 2016. One of the first countries in Africa to establish a national HIV/AIDS treatment program, the Botswana Antiretroviral (ARV) Program was initiated over five years ago and a total of 145,413 patients had received ART by March 2010, amounting to 89.9 % of the projected 161,700 adults and children in need of ART for the year 2009/10.

SCMS supports the Government of Botswana's effort through technical assistance to the Central Medical Stores (CMS), the Drug Regulatory Unit (DRU), Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) Unit, National ARV Programme (MASA) M&E Unit and Laboratory Services to strengthen the supply chain system for ARV medications, infant formula and HIV test kits and laboratory commodities. SCMS focuses on building a sustainable strengthened health commodities supply chain system through human resource capacity development, defined as strengthened institutional, organizational and individual capacities of the Ministry of Health (MOH) to manage predetermined key outcome areas of supply chain management.

Key Objectives

• By by 2013, ensure that accurate essential logistics data for vital and essential health commodities are being regularly recorded and reported by each SDP/site for replenishment and supply planning purposes.
  
• By by 2013, strengthen the national quality assurance system for health commodities procured, stored, and distributed in country.
• By 2010, put in place a mechanism for the Ministry's technical and service programs to stay informed of supply chain management.
  
• By 2012, provide training and tools to develop a skilled workforce at the MOH and CMS to carry out at least 24-month forecasts for the demand of all health commodities, and create annual supply plans reviewed on a quarterly basis.
• By 2013, attain efficient customer-focused warehousing and distribution operations that ensure best practices in the management of products, the processing of orders, and the delivery of orders to customers.

Activities and Impact

Value of commodities delivered as of December 2008: $3.3 million

Date Management:  Develop and implement a national LMIS for HIV/AIDS products and ensure that accurate logistics data is aggregated, analyzed and disseminated for decision making.

Quality Assurance: Support MOH in designing an accreditation or certification standard for its supply chain, and implement a system to enable logistics management at hospitals and clinics meet quality assurance standards.  Support the Drug Regulatory unit to increase the range of registered formulations and suppliers to promote access to quality vital and essential drugs.

Strategic Planning and Coordination: Strengthen coordinating mechanism at the MOH level for supply chain management related information sharing and decision making.

Forecasting and Planning: Provide technical assistance to MOH technical team to prepare realistic and demand driven (evidence based) 24-month forecasts and annual supply plans that are implemented and reviewed quarterly to support accurate procurement process.

Procurement: Institutionalize standardized tools to support a responsive demand driven procurement system which provides at least 90% of high quality HIV/AIDS products to meet the  facility demands. This is in addition to:

• Strengthening capacity for the decentralized PPADB structures to efficiently process tenders for health commodity procurements.
•  Developing a responsive SCMS procurement system, and providing technical assistance for product specifications, supply planning and procuring health related commodities/services at best value to meet the needs of clients in a timely manner.

Warehousing and Distribution: Support human resource capacity development to ensure that the CMS is a fully operational, cost effective, standardized, and the warehousing and distribution system fully addresses client satisfaction.