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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Timothy Williams, MA, MEM, Dana Gelfeld Aronovich, MPH, Erika Ronnow, MPH, and Lea Teclemariam, MPH. DELIVER Project, John Snow, Inc., 1616 N. Fort Myer Dr., 11th Floor, Arlington, VA 22209, 7035287474, tim_williams@jsi.com
A reliable supply of contraceptives and other products is essential to the success of reproductive health programs. Stockouts of even one key product can jeopardize other well-designed interventions such as training, BCC campaigns, community outreach, improved infrastructure, etc. When clients cannot obtain their desired products at their preferred source of supply, they may face increased risks of unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion, and exposure to sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS. To avoid these outcomes, countries are increasingly adopting strategies to work toward reproductive health commodity security, meaning that they have the skills to forecast, procure, finance, and deliver products to clients, over an extended future period, with a minimal of external assistance. The DELIVER Project of John Snow, Inc. has developed a series of tools to assess commodity security by measuring the strengths and weaknesses of national supply chains and their effectiveness in maintaining a continuous supply of products at service delivery points. Used together, the tools assess product selection, forecasting, financing, procurement, distribution, storage, product use, information systems, human resource capacity, and ultimately, product availability to clients. This paper presents findings from the tools in approximately 15 countries worldwide. The discussion will focus on the effectiveness of the components of each country's supply chain, the extent to which products are consistently available to clients, and the main strategies undertaken to date to work toward commodity security. The evidence-based approaches described should be highly relevant to any setting where reproductive health commodity security is a priority.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: International Reproductive Health, Health Care Quality
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.