Health Sector Supply Chain Strategy and Implementation Plan (2015-2017)

Abstract

The procurement and supply of essential medicines and medical supplies has been a key concern within the health sector in Zambia since the 1970s. During these last five decades, a number of significant interventions have been attempted to improve the availability of health commodities and enhance the performance of the supply chain within the Ministry of Health. These interventions have included reforms at the central level related to the management of the procurement, storage and distribution functions, the development and adoption of new commodity management systems, computerization at MSL and service delivery sites, better organized national quantification and forecasting processes, the development of HIV/AIDS and Reproductive Health Commodity Security strategies, and the installation of stores at the district level to improve district level storage capacity. Another example was the development and adoption of the National Drug Policy in 1996 to provide, among other things, policy direction to the management of medicines and medical supplies. Appropriate legislation was also enacted to support the implementation of the new Policy through established regulatory institutions like the Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority (ZMRA).