Using baseline assessments in Malawi and Ethiopia to identify innovative supply chain interventions for improving product availability for community case management

Slow progress in reducing childhood mortality due to treatable illnesses has influenced governments, NGOs, and donors to adopt new approaches to delivering life-saving health services for young children. Community case management (CCM) is one promising approach for improving child health in underdeveloped areas by training community health workers (CHWs) to treat common childhood illnesses. Evidence suggests, however, that inconsistent supplies pose significant constraints to CCM, often adversely affecting outcomes. The Improving Supply Chains for Community Case Management of Pneumonia and Other Common Diseases of Childhood (SC4CCM) Project aims to demonstrate that supply chain constraints at the community level can be overcome, potentially leading to improved CCM effectiveness and impact. SC4CCM will test, identify and introduce innovative approaches to strengthen supply chains and effectively deliver key health products to CHWs, to address the limited knowledge and experience regarding supply chain practices at the community level. In Malawi and Ethiopia, the project's first focus countries, baseline assessments will be conducted in early 2010 to evaluate current conditions and provide evidence and options for effective interventions. Methodology will include physical counts of CCM products managed and stored by CHWs and at resupply points, and structured interviews with CHWs and other stock managers. Experimental and control districts will be selected purposefully, with health facilities sampled randomly within selected districts, and two to three CHWs selected randomly per facility. The presentation will describe baseline findings, supply chain strengths and weaknesses; planned innovations based on findings; strategies to test interventions; and potential applications for other settings.