When people think of supply chains, they often picture trucks, warehouses and the movement of medicines and vaccines from one point to another. But as the Supply Chain Integrators (SCI) investment made clear, supply chains are far more complex—and far more human—than that.
To deliver essential health products reliably, we must look beyond commodities and understand the systems, people and processes that bring them to communities. This is the theme of the first lesson from our SCI Five-Year Report: Building Responsive, Integrated Health Supply Chains in Africa: Achievements and Lessons from the Supply Chain Integrators Investment.
A Whole System Approach Matters
Strengthening a country’s supply chain is not simply a technical exercise focused on storage and distribution. Supply chains only work when:
- Products are manufactured, procured and distributed efficiently;
- Trained professionals manage data, logistics and cold chain;
- National priorities guide the flow of resources;
- Systems adapt to changing health needs; and
- Community realities shape design and decision making.
In many countries, decades of disease-focused investments have created parallel systems that strengthen one part of the supply chain while leaving others behind. Fragmentation can improve availability for some products, but it rarely builds lasting, country-owned systems. SCI showed that a more integrated approach—one that aligns products, data, workforce capability and governance—creates durable gains that governments can sustain and scale.
Academic Pathways to Strong Supply Chains
A central insight from SCI is that people are the backbone of every supply chain. The investment uncovered significant gaps in training, and professional pathways for supply chain logistics across multiple countries. Many supply chain functions were handled by health workers who had little or no formal training in logistics.
In response, VillageReach partnered with governments, academic institutions and partners to professionalize targeted areas of the supply chain workforce and ensure countries have the talent needed to manage increasingly complex health systems.
Creating Academic Pathways
Three countries made major strides:
Mozambique
The Mozambique Ministry of Health (MoH) identified a need for a trained logistics workforce. Working with VillageReach, LEARN Logistics by the Kühne Foundation, the Central Medical Store of Mozambique and the Higher Institute of Health Sciences, Mozambique launched its first ever Bachelor’s degree in Health Care Logistics Management—a milestone that will shape the country’s supply chain leadership for years to come. Coursework began in early 2026.
Malawi
VillageReach helped expand the Pharmacy Assistant (PA) program across seven institutions, training more than 2,000 PAs since 2019. Under SCI, in collaboration with the Malawi MoH and LEARN Logistics, the curriculum was strengthened to include national level supply chain management and logistics, ensuring graduates are prepared for the evolving needs of the health system.
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
Working with the Institut Supérieur des Techniques Médicales (ISTM) and the Empower School of Health, VillageReach supported the development of a revised curriculum that aligns with international standards for future health workforce leaders. Coursework began in Kinshasa in 2025.
Professionalization builds long-term system resilience
These academic pathways and curriculum reforms weren’t temporary activities—they created lasting infrastructure for countries to develop, train and retain a skilled logistics workforce. This shift toward country-led supply chain capacity development is essential for long-term supply chain sustainability. As African countries work to reduce donor dependence and increase sovereignty over health systems, embedding these competencies in national educational institutions ensures continuity far beyond any single project.
These workforce efforts demonstrate what happens when governments, academic institutions and technical partners work together toward shared outcomes. By elevating national priorities and adapting to local contexts, this investment supported solutions that countries can sustain, scale and evolve as their health systems grow.
Lesson 1 is simple, but transformative: If we want reliable, equitable access to health products, we must invest in the people and systems behind the supply chain—not just the commodities that move through it.
Read the full SCI Report here.