The District Health Director (DHD), Dr. Muhimba Zoran, noted, “As a clinician without much understanding or training in logistics management and supply, I needed support.”
Then, in 2017, Zoran attended a supervisor’s training led by the USAID Global Health Supply Chain Program-Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) project that aimed to help improve on-site supervision and monitoring in logistics management at district and provincial levels.
Zoran eagerly joined 16 of his colleagues from other districts at the three-day training to learn how to improve key supply chain functions.
“The training equipped me with technical knowledge on logistics management and strategies for quality improvement as well as supervisory skills,” Zoran said.
Upon completion of the training, Zoran embarked on a series of on-site supervision visits to all 14 health centers in his district. Within three months of continued supervision in logistics management, the district had significantly improved the availability of all essential commodities.
To further enhance logistics management efforts, Zoran set up an account in the electronic logistics management information systems (eLMIS) operated by Medical Stores Limited (the institution mandated by the Government of Zambia to warehouse and distribute commodities to service delivery points) to more easily track the stock status of all essential commodities in the district. Using this information, he can now identify sites at risk of stockout, overstock, or expiry, and redistribute health commodities from one site to another to ensure a reliable supply for all. He can also identify under-performing health facilities and provides them additional oversight and training in stock management.
“The district is now well stocked in essential commodities, with all centers adhering to the standard treatment procedures because of this training by GHSC-PSM. The hard work, the commitment of the entire team at the District Health Office and the support from the provincial team paid off,” Zoran said.
