Contracts Management Course Supports Botswana’s HIV/AIDS Programming

Private sector providers of medicines and warehousing services are the focus of improved procurement and supplier management
Image of Botswana contracts management course participants and facilitators
Contracts management course participants and facilitators. Photo Credit: GHSC-PSM
Topics:
Procurement
Supply Planning
HIV/AIDS
Botswana
Projects:
Procurement and Supply Management
Date

In May 2019, 20 staff from Botswana’s Central Medical Stores (CMS) participated in a course on contracts management provided by the USAID Global Health Supply Chain Program-Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) project, in cooperation with International Law Institute (ILI) of Washington DC.

The one-week course – covering key topics like understanding contract management, scope of contract management; types of contracts; contract implementation; evaluating performance; and supplier relationship management – supported several key aims of the Government of Botswana and USAID:

  • Supporting Sustainability for key PEPFAR initiatives. Until early 2019, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) funded and procured Dolutegravir (DTG) and Tenofovir/Dolutegravir/ Lamivudine (TLD) through GHSC-PSM in conjunction with CMS to meet Botswana’s 90-90-90 targets for epidemic control. Since then, the Government of Botswana funds and procures all antiretroviral medicines and HIV test kits and supplies. The contract management course aimed to increase the effectiveness and cost efficiency of the procurement process cycle and improve commodity supplier relationships by reducing delays and lead times. This will help increase product availability in the national supply chain system.
     
  • Capacity building and sustainability for supply chain management. The CMS is the designated government entity responsible for the procurement, warehousing, and distribution of public health commodities, including antiretroviral medicines. GHSC-PSM is supporting the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) and CMS to develop sustainable systems to increase the availability and security of health commodities. Contract management at CMS covers both the purchase of pharmaceuticals and outsourcing of warehouse operations. CMS and MOHW senior staff recognize contract management as a skill set needed to better manage two very different types of suppliers – pharmaceutical suppliers and a service provider of warehouse operations.
     
  • Private-sector engagement. Outsourcing warehouse operations to a private-sector service provider is just one way that the CMS is using the private sector for key supply chain functions. The course focused on best practices in administering and managing service contracts. In a time when contracts awarded by the government to suppliers are increasingly diverse and supply chain technology is growing, a firm understanding of contract administration and management is vital to success.

Participants in the training are now prepared to identify and avoid risks in their daily procurement and contract management activities. 

“I am now able to manage a contract, with the information I have learned this week.” - Course participant

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