The services that health facilities provide depend on a consistent supply of medicines, equipment and other medical commodities, which can only be possible through effective supply chains, logistics management, and information exchange. By increasing accuracy of and access to supply chain and health program information, we can provide better care—whether patients are seeking routine medical services, vaccines for prevention, or even diagnostic tests. This is why Burkina Faso’s Ministry of Health (MOH), with technical and financial support from the USAID Global Health Supply Chain Program-Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) project, has been working to improve the management of the country’s healthcare logistics and supplies through digital information systems.
Two tools have been critical to the Ministry’s success so far: the electronic Logistics Management Information System (eLMIS), called NetSIGL in Burkina Faso, and the vaccine-focused platform, NetSIGL-SMT. NetSIGL helps the Burkinabe government and its partners collect, organize, analyze, and communicate accurate product information, enabling them to make informed decisions that impact product availability and customer service. NetSIGL-SMT does this specifically for Burkina Faso’s vaccine program, and is currently being piloted with the support of GHSC-PSM in two health districts to manage immunization logistics information.
NetSIGL: A new arrow in health workers' quiver
In 2019, the MOH launched a training program with a module on eLMIS for student nurses and midwives. The program came in response to feedback from former graduates that they were now using NetSIGL in their workplaces and that a module on this would support future students and reinforce their training curriculum package. Ultimately, 20,207 students were trained and monitored through this program between 2019 and 2022. USAID also provided desktop computers and copies of the Integrated LMIS Manual to support LMIS teaching in public and private health schools.
Graduates of the program shared the impact of their training during a joint MOH and GHSC-PSM supervision visit, noting improved capabilities for:
- Completing inventory management, including stock sheets, inventory registers, and daily sales books
- Taking physical inventory of stocks in health facilities’ essential generic drug stores or in the medicine cupboard at the point of service delivery (dispensary, maternity hospital, etc.)
- utting away products in the essential generic drugs warehouse or the service provider's cupboard according to the first-expired, first-out (FEFO) principle
- Supervising and providing support to the essential generic drugs warehouse manager
- Replicating certain management tools, such as the inventory register, and using the standard format when printed versions of the tools are unavailable
- Developing the LMIS monthly and quarterly reports, including verifying and analyzing the included data
- Decentralizing input of the LMIS report into MOH’s national data management system, Endos-BF
In June 2024, those in charge of the training program met to finalize the training booklet. For GHSC-PSM Country Director Parfait Nyuito Edah, the completion of the LMIS training booklet is a positive collaboration between the project and the MOH, noting that “Reinforcing trainees' skills, especially in SIGL/LMIS, is a good response to the concerns expressed for years by the graduates of these training schools and institutes.” Professor Benilde Marie Ange Kambou Tiemtore, Director of Vocational Training and National Examinations, stated, “It's a happy outcome, and we can only be delighted and proud of the involvement of all those involved. We are very hopeful that the problems identified during the process will be solved with this training booklet.”
NetSIGL-SMT, a platform for vaccine logistics management
Expanding on Net-SIGL, NetSIGL-SMT is used specifically for vaccine logistics management, providing a visualization of health facilities’ vaccine stock data. It is a web application that can be used offline to enter data, which is then synchronized with the platform once it’s reconnected to the internet. NetSIGL-SMT has four sections: equipment and infrastructure, inventory management, demographic data management, and post-vaccination adverse events management (MAPI) for the malaria vaccine, called RTSS/Palau (this is only used in the Nanoro Health District, where this vaccine is being administered).
Health facility supervisors support EPI managers in using NetSIGL-SMT. Photo credit: GHSC-PSM.
In January 2024, a six-month pilot of NetSIGL-SMT began in two health districts, Dandé and Nanoro, covering their 74 health facilities. GHSC-PSM provided internet during the pilot period and trained users of the application on tablets also used for national LLIN campaigns. Following the training, managers of the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) began managing their stocks through NetSIGL-SMT.
“First, we familiarized ourselves with the tool, mastering it and using it regularly. We set up a follow-up program for the health facilities to monitor data and conduct remote and sometimes face-to-face coaching. In addition, we set up a discussion forum on WhatsApp through which points and needs for assistance are expressed. As a result, we can assist health facilities that have encountered problems with the application or the website or sometimes refer them to more authorized people within the Ministry of Health.” - Boubou Naon, Deputy District EPI manager, Nanoro
After six months of the pilot, users and stakeholders were unanimous: NetSIGL-SMT was having a positive impact on their work. To gain insight into the strengths and challenges of the application, the project conducted a study of the pilot in August, reviewing a cross-sectional sample of health facilities across Dandé and Nanoro. The study showed that of the application’s users, 50 percent are nurses, 33 percent are mobile health works, 11 percent are midwives, and 6 percent are doctors. Within that group, 61 percent are EPI managers and 28 percent are nurses in charge of health facilities—a positively high number as their adoption of the tool will help its ability to be scaled up. The study also revealed that all of the users had taken part in the NetSIGL-SMT training program, with 91 percent mastering the tool afterward and the rest using it successfully with assistance. According to the study, all respondents regularly use the tool for vaccine stock, equipment, and infrastructure management, while most use it for cold chain management. Additionally, all Nanoro health districts have integrated the RTSS/Palau vaccine into NetSIGL-SMT.
EPI manager Tassere Zabda uses the NetSIGL-SMT software on a tablet. Photo credit: GHSC-PSM.
During the evaluation of NetSIGL-SMT, Boubou Naon, Deputy District EPI Manager in Nanoro district, said, “The SMT tool automatically and quickly generates stock management reports and helps on-time decision making. With this tool, all I have to do now is open the platform to access the data of all health facilities.” At the Zalle health facilities in Nanoro district, the EPI manager Tassere Zabda said, “I no longer have worries about archiving data because everything is now online.” At the regional level, Mr. Adamou Touré, EPI Manager at the Centre Ouest Regional Health Department, added that “from feedback received from the health facilities, we recommend the scaling up of the platform.”
Looking ahead: Better information results in better care.
As Burkina Faso continues to enhance its healthcare logistics, the adoption of NetSIGL and NetSIGL-SMT marks a pivotal step forward. By empowering healthcare professionals with new trainings and essential tools to streamline information management, the MOH is creating a stronger information environment that supports better patient care.
