Tracking Health Commodities Down to the Last Mile: COMS and Data Warehouse Walk-Through

On October 7 and 8, Chemonics hosted a two-part series on tracking health commodities down to the last mile in Nigeria. In 2019, the USAID Global Health Supply Chain Program-Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) project developed and deployed a cloud-based Commodity Order Management System (COMS) that provides end-to-end visibility into several commodity lines. COMS enables…

Leveraging Private Sector Transportation/Logistics Services in Nigeria

A study was conducted using a descriptive method to assess 3PL performance in a system implemented by the USAID Global Health Supply Chain-Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) project in Nigeria. Specimen quantities transported by the 3PLs providers over six months were compared to the quantities transported in the period prior to implementation. Using the 3PLs…

Quality Considerations of Zambian Wholesalers and Regulatory Authorities to Increase Availability and Access to Quality Maternal Newborn, and Child Health Products

The majority of MNCH products and services are provided through the public sector, and as a result, the Government of Zambia is the primary client for wholesalers that supply MNCH commodities. Wholesaler representatives noted challenges in their macro-operating environment, including large and often delayed government payments. When sourcing MNCH products, wholesalers often noted quality as…

Vendor Managed Inventory: Shorter Lead time, Great Cost Savings, Larger Health Impact

The global demand for male condoms and voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) kits as preventative measures for contracting HIV/AIDS has been steadily increasing. As demand soars, lead times to manufacture and deliver commodities from a limited number of pre-qualified vendors have also been on the rise. With several social marketing campaigns of male condoms and…

Trauma-Informed Approaches to Development Checklist

Global mental health experts recognize that traumatic stress can dramatically affect progress toward the same outcomes Chemonics projects work toward each day, including educational achievement, economic productivity, social cohesion, positive communal relations, and overall health and wellbeing. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated many of these sources of trauma, whether it be armed conflict, natural…

Wholesaler Capacity to Provide Quality Assured Maternal, Newborn and Child Commodities

In many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), national governments procure and distribute the majority of lifesaving MNCH commodities and typically, domestic wholesalers’ source, import and supply these critical products. Unlike products such as antiretrovirals and antimalarials, MNCH commodities have not received the same level of quality assurance scrutiny and several post marketing surveillance studies have…

Emergency Supply Chain Preparedness in the Context of COVID-19

This presentation walks through the framework of emergency supply chain (ESC) preparedness and response, as well as best practices and the Emergency Supply Chain Playbook. The major areas of emergency supply chain preparedness and response include people and processes, commodity planning, logistics and transport, and transition and other special considerations. These areas are outlined and…

Mapping Success in Cameroon – Effective Distribution of Seasonal Malaria Commodities

Reducing morbidity and mortality caused by malaria remains a major challenge for the Cameroon Ministry of Public Health. In Cameroon, health data is frequently incomplete or arrives at the district level very late. Additionally, there are also difficulties with storage, inventory, and transportation from regional to health facility levels. GHSC-PSM supported the country’s National Malaria…

Activity Based Costing

This document provides an overview of activity-based costing, a model which assigns indirect costs combined with direct costs to assess the true cost of receiving, storing, and transporting products in specific categories. ABC is the foundation to strong KPIs, efficient warehouse management, and understanding an operation’s true cost. Using ABC allows for a distribution center…

Final Report: USAID Regional Program for the Management of Aquatic Resources and Economic Alternatives

Biodiversity loss is one of Central America’s most pressing challenges. The five-year, $13.9 million USAID Regional Program for the Management of Aquatic Resources and Economic Alternatives, implemented by Chemonics International, was developed to strengthen coastal-marine resource management and biodiversity conservation while improving the livelihoods of local populations. Population growth in coastal marine areas, climate change,…

Testing an Approach to Distance Professional Development in Senegal

In July 2020, the USAID Lecture Pour Tous program supported Senegal’s Ministry of Education to pilot a distance learning approach to providing continuous professional development (CPD) to early grade reading educators. The pilot assessed the feasibility and applicability of self-guided distance professional development for teachers, coaches, and school inspectors, that could be used on a…