As of January 19, more than 40,000 pounds of medicines and emergency medical supplies from warehouse stock had already been distributed to 30 health facilities (16 hospitals and 14 other clinical sites) in Port-au-Prince. Emergency kits come from existing supplies in the SCMS warehouse and include antibiotics and other essential medicines, blood transfusion sets, first aid supplies, infusion solution and oral rehydration salts and syringes.

By the end of February 2010, more than 100,000 pounds of medicines and emergency medical supplies from warehouse stock have been distributed to over 40 health facilities in Port-au-Prince and other affected areas. Emergency kits are prepared from existing supplies in the SCMS warehouse and include antibiotics and other essential medicines, blood bags and transfusion sets, first aid supplies, infusion solutions, oral rehydration salts, and syringes.

In the days and weeks following the earthquake, SCMS staff in Haiti and around the globe assessed current stocks of commodities available to help with disaster relief, gathered lists of needed commodities, identified available suppliers, assessed the most effective ways to ship the goods and determined how to most effectively contribute to the relief effort.

Key Objectives

• Capacity building: Capacity building: As the number of patients being treated increases in Haiti, so does the need to treat opportunistic infections with an increased volume and range of drugs. To meet the challenge of managing this inventory, SCMS has developed a cadre of master trainers to instruct pharmacists, site managers and drug dispensers working at treatment centers on the techniques of logistics and stock management of HIV drugs and lab commodities. These master trainers are currently conducting regular workshops and training 20 to 40 participants quarterly at as many sites. SCMS also conducted a training session on basic logistics adapted to the needs of the blood safety program with the Red Cross. Over time, these capacity-building efforts will contribute to sustained improvements in managing and distributing vital medicines and supplies on the front lines of HIV/AIDS patient care.
• Warehousing: SCMS is the main procurement entity for laboratory supplies and ARVs/OI drugs in Haiti, with responsibility for 85 percent of lab, 65% of ARVs and 70% of OI drugs of the national need for HIV patients. To meet the need for more storage space, SCMS established a 1,400-square-meter warehouse strategically located in Port-au-Prince. The warehouse uses MACS as an automated warehouse management information system (WMIS) tool to leverage hand-held and radio frequency technology to improve warehousing and storage. The warehouse also includes a 25-square-meter cold room to maintain a constant temperature for storing cold chain items.
• Distribution: SCMS’s distribution network, which started with 12 sites in 2006, now includes more than 150 sites across the country. Some of these sites are located in areas that are extremely difficult to access. SCMS is also providing technical assistance on-site to logistics-related health workers. SCMS participated in finalizing the memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Health and the Clinton Foundation to provide free 2nd-line ARVs to Haiti. SCMS is charged with storing and distributing those medicines to treatment sites. SCMS also manages and distributes a number of donation programs with national coverage such as the PMTCT Determine tests, the PMTCT drugs, early infant diagnosis and laboratory commodities and Pediatric ARVs and OI drugs.
• Forecasting: Within the last year, SCMS has added a nutrition-treatment component to our work, including the procurement, storage and distribution of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF). To date, we have procured $131,000 in RUTF from NutriSet and VitaSet

Activities and Impact

Value of commodities delivered as of June 2010: $21.9 million

Capacity building: Capacity building: As the number of patients being treated increases in Haiti, so does the need to treat opportunistic infections with an increased volume and range of drugs. To meet the challenge of managing this inventory, SCMS has developed a cadre of master trainers to instruct pharmacists, site managers and drug dispensers working at treatment centers on the techniques of logistics and stock management of HIV drugs and lab commodities. These master trainers are currently conducting regular workshops and training 20 to 40 participants quarterly at as many sites. SCMS also conducted a training session on basic logistics adapted to the needs of the blood safety program with the Red Cross. Over time, these capacity-building efforts will contribute to sustained improvements in managing and distributing vital medicines and supplies on the front lines of HIV/AIDS patient care.

Warehousing: SCMS is the main procurement entity for laboratory supplies and ARVs/OI drugs in Haiti, with responsibility for 85 percent of lab, 65% of ARVs and 70% of OI drugs of the national need for HIV patients. To meet the need for more storage space, SCMS established a 1,400-square-meter warehouse strategically located in Port-au-Prince. The warehouse uses MACS as an automated warehouse management information system (WMIS) tool to leverage hand-held and radio frequency technology to improve warehousing and storage. The warehouse also includes a 25-square-meter cold room to maintain a constant temperature for storing cold chain items.

Distribution: SCMS’s distribution network, which started with 12 sites in 2006, now includes more than 150 sites across the country. Some of these sites are located in areas that are extremely difficult to access. SCMS is also providing technical assistance on-site to logistics-related health workers. SCMS participated in finalizing the memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Health and the Clinton Foundation to provide free 2nd-line ARVs to Haiti. SCMS is charged with storing and distributing those medicines to treatment sites. SCMS also manages and distributes a number of donation programs with national coverage such as the PMTCT Determine tests, the PMTCT drugs, early infant diagnosis and laboratory commodities and Pediatric ARVs and OI drugs.

Forecasting: Within the last year, SCMS has added a nutrition-treatment component to our work, including the procurement, storage and distribution of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF). To date, we have procured $131,000 in RUTF from NutriSet and VitaSet