SEATTLE, Washington, October 31, 2014– VillageReach, a Seattle-based non-profit that develops, tests, implements and scales global health innovations, has received a $1.8 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to further enhance vaccine delivery systems and management in Mozambique. The funding is an extension of a $3 million grant awarded to VillageReach in June 2013 for the “Final 20 Project,” an initiative to encourage new models of vaccine supply chain system design in order to reach the final 20% of children who currently do not have access to life-saving vaccines. The additional funding will support VillageReach’s work with the Mozambique Ministry of Health and provincial health directorates to introduce new efficiencies to the vaccine delivery system through optimized supply chain system design, data collection processes, and logistics via the Dedicated Logistics System (DLS). The DLS currently serves more than 400 health centers serving a population of 6 million across four provinces.
The grant will support the expansion of the DLS into an additional province, enable peer-to-peer exchanges on supply chain improvement methods between provincial governments, support the Ministry of Health in its efforts to model and plan new cost-effective supply chain designs for the country, and strengthen the transportation and human resource components of the vaccine supply chain. Part of the funding will also support a study on the gaps in finances available for vaccine supply chain operations in order to address bottlenecks and improve availability of operational funding for vaccine distribution. Partners supporting this work include the HERMES logistics team and the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
Tools and case studies from VillageReach’s work in Mozambique will be documented and disseminated globally to advocate for and advance innovation of vaccine delivery systems in other low- and middle-income countries that share common challenges related to vaccine delivery in lowresource environments. In 2010, in partnership with the provincial governments and the central Ministry of Health, VillageReach launched a national expansion project to roll out the Dedicated Logistics Systems (DLS), an innovative approach to supply chain system design resulting in significant increases in fully vaccinated children, dramatic reduction in stock-outs, and cost efficiencies.
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About VillageReach
VillageReach transforms health care delivery to reach everyone, so that each person has the health care needed to thrive. We develop solutions that improve equity and access to primary health care. This includes making sure products are available when and where they are needed and primary health care services are delivered to the most under-reached. Radical collaboration with governments, the private sector and other partners strengthen our ability to scale and sustain these solutions. Our work increases access to quality health care for 46 million people in sub-Saharan Africa.
For press inquiries: media@villagereach.org