Zimbabwe

The USAID Global Health Supply Chain Program-Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) project is supporting USAID in Zimbabwe to strengthen supply chain performance, improve the availability of health commodities, and increase data visibility. Our approach to achieving these outcomes includes the following measures:

• Harmonize four distribution systems at primary-level facilities through Zimbabwe Assisted Pull System (ZAPS) rollout
• Improve transportation and security by assessing the cost, feasibility, and sustainability of implementing route optimization software and incorporating the use of security seals
• Enhance data visibility by developing functionality for remote access to logistics data, through web access and real-time data transmission from the field, to improve turnaround time for aggregated data for decision-making
• Develop a community-based logistics distribution system to support the move to community-based interventions, which will improve availability, management, and accountability of health commodities at the community level
• Outsource warehousing services for condoms and long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) by negotiating longer-term contracts with a wider range of warehousing service providers

• artemether/lumefantrine artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT)
• male condoms
• tenofovir/lamivudine/efavirenz (TLE) antiretrovirals (ARVs)

Key activities in Zimbabwe include:

• Provide financial and technical support for quarterly procurement and supply management committee meetings, central-level pharmacy services meetings, provincial-level supply chain coordination meetings, biannual central-level laboratory logistics coordination meetings, the ZAPS technical working group, and the annual and mid-year quantification exercises
• Develop an early warning system to help the Ministry of Health and Child Care report on impending pipeline problems, such as delayed shipments and increased consumption, that could lead to stockouts
• Procure and deliver antiretrovirals, voluntary medical male circumcision kits, laboratory commodities, malaria commodities, and condoms on time according to the country supply plan
• Support the Zimbabwean National Pharmaceutical Company (NatPharm) to ensure that globally ordered commodities arrive in accordance with NatPharm’s needs, specifications, and best practices
• Review and make recommendations on NatPharm’s processes for warehousing and distribution for health commodities to identify new efficiencies
• Provide financial and technical support for the quarterly central stock audit at NatPharm branches and routinely review NatPharm temperature data to ensure that commodities are stored at correct temperatures
• Provide financial and technical support for outsourcing transport and warehousing services for annual LLIN distribution

Key domestic and international partners include the Ministry of Health and Child Care, National Pharmaceutical Company, Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council, United Nations Development Program, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Crown Agents, United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), Clinton Health Access Initiative, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).