The 3rd annual Health & Humanitarian Supply Chain summit
For the third year, PSA organised the Health and Humanitarian Supply Chain Summit, this time held at Strathmore Business School, Nairobi. The event gathered key stakeholders from the supply chain sector in Kenya and East Africa to discuss the theme, ‘Supply Chain as a key enabler of Universal Health Coverage.’
Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is part of the Sustainable Development Goals and of the Government of Kenya’s own policy. In the room, the ambition was to find how supply chain professionals can work together to achieve UHC. Dr Frank Ofula (Strathmore Institute of Healthcare Management) Pamela Steele (PSA) and guest speaker Chris Oanda (e-sokoni) introduced and framed the position of supply chain in relation to UHC.
‘The world has never had a shortage of medicine. The problem is how to distribute that medicine to where it is needed,’ Chris Oanda.
Dr Simeon Onyango challenged the attendees to think about the conditions of their own supply chain and whether they are enough to ensure effective and sustainable UHC, leading to a passionate plenary discussion on the current gaps in medical supply chain education and regulation.
Kenya’s Ministry of Health (MoH) and Medicine Supply Agency (KEMSA) presented digital data platforms they use to track their effectiveness and assist them in their mission to achieve UHC. The floor was again opened for a conversation about the use, reach, and sustainability of these tools.
In six rounds of World Café, attendees defined necessary actions to promote the role of supply chain in healthcare coverage, ensure product quality and ‘leave no one behind.’
‘We must change the narrative that the government does not have the capacity to manage supply chain. Once the government is seen as capable, the partners can effectively support it. The private sector’s profit-based efficiency and the humanitarian sector’s flexibility are characteristics from which the government has learned,’ Hellen Kalili, ARC, World Café facilitator.
The event closed with an award ceremony, in which KEMSA was recognised for the second consecutive year for Outstanding Achievement in Supply Chain Management for their work in exchanging knowledge with other African countries.
To read the full conference report, please, click here.