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Strengthening health systems in low-income countries requires reliable health information and improved decision-making capacity at all levels. From the onset, OpenLMIS collaborators understood that to meet this goal, an open-source, high-quality, logistics platform was needed.

OpenLMIS

Open Source Software for Managing

Health Supply Chains

VillageReach is a leading contributor to OpenLMIS, the global initiative to develop shared, open source solutions for managing medical commodity distribution in low- and middle-income countries.

Public health supply chains need accurate, timely logistics data from health facilities to make decisions about procurement and supply. Too often this information is inaccurate or simply not available. As a result, health systems in many countries continue to experience stock-outs of essential medicines. In many cases, countries have had to build and support their own custom logistics management information system solutions, or rely on costly commercial systems. Globally, this approach is expensive, inefficient, and often results in inadequate solutions that become increasingly difficult to maintain over time.

OpenLMIS is a new, cost-effective solution purpose-built to address the data visibility challenges of  low-resource environments.

OpenLMIS:

  • Provides for shared investment / shared benefit
  • Is interoperable with other medical information systems
  • Is highly adaptable to the unique requirements of specific programs and individual countries

Learn more about VillageReach  ICT Capabilities

Key Benefits

  1. Automated Requisition Lifecycle: Supports requisitioning, approving, packing, shipping, and delivery confirmation, including automated notifications for each step
  2. Centralized reporting across all levels and programs: Supports decision making with easy access to accurate system-wide data on stock on hand, requisitions, orders, and deliveries.
  3. Reduced Support Costs: Web-based system eliminates the need to install and maintain desktop applications, requiring only a basic internet connection.
  4. Improves Data Accuracy: Eliminates time-consuming manual calculations by automatically calculating replenishment quantities.

Open LMIS graphic

OpenLMIS.org

For a more technical and complete overview of  OpenLMIS, its features, and to access the repository

visit OpenLMIS.org

Impact

OpenLMIS has been deployed  in Mozambique, Tanzania,  Zambia and Benin.

In Mozambique, OpenLMIS currently supports more than 400 health centers, collectively serving approximately 10 million people. Tanzania and Zambia are continuing to broaden their deployments– Zambia expects to have hundreds of health centers supported by the end of 2015, and Tanzania expects to have approximately 4,000 health centers supported by the end of 2015.  In January 2015, OpenLMIS was deployed in Benin for a pilot project supporting distribution of vaccines.

VillageReach is working with its partners to promote the accessibility of OpenLMIS and support Ministry of Health stakeholders through shared learning experiences as part of  OpenLMIS expansion to additional countries.

“This is a major leap forward in access to medicines”                                            –   Honorable Dr. Joseph Kasonde, Minister of Health  in Zambia

Read the Press Release

 

 

From the Field

SELV test in Tete

What Lies Ahead-  …In the coming year, we will  work with national and provincial policy makers to continue the national discourse on system optimization.

Read the Blog: 2014- A Year of Learning 

Vidya

Our work is entirely iterative and we challenge ourselves by asking difficult questions…

Read the Blog: Testing Innovation in the Field

“As the first open source logistics management information system for medical supply chains designed specifically to meet the requirements of low-income countries, the creation of OpenLMIS challenges the legacy paradigm of custom, proprietary solutions. Initial deployments of OpenLMIS are already improving lives for millions across multiple countries, proving the value of shared investment through a sustainable and scalable solution to long-standing supply chain challenges.”

– Allen Wilcox, Former President, VillageReach

Key Partners

  • Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
  • Rockefeller Foundation
  • USAID|DELIVER PROJECT
  • ThoughtWorks
  • John Snow, Inc.
  • PATH
  • PEPFAR
  • UN Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children

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