Where We Work | Program
Last Mile Supply Chain (LMSC)
The Government of Mozambique and USAID partnered with VillageReach to design and implement a streamlined, effective and integrated last mile supply chain system. The LMSC program is aligned with long-term national strategies and efforts, while taking short-term steps to address chronic logistics and transport challenges at the sub-national level.
Outsourced transport improves health care delivery across Inhambane
Point of care starts at the primary health center, where the patient and the health care worker meet. But for many communities in Inhambane Province, in the south of Mozambique, that point of care is harder to reach than for other Mozambicans. This is...
Provinces align strategies to improve medicine distribution in Mozambique
Originally posted on medium.com. Last Mile Supply Chain (LMSC) is an innovative and efficient model for medicines and vaccines distribution, implemented by VillageReach in partnership with the Government of Mozambique and private sector companies in 2018. The Gaza and Inhambane provincial government introduced LMSC...
Ensuring access to essential medicines through strategic partnerships
Since COVID-19 started, most basic services were hugely affected. With the growing pressure over the health sector, governments and partners had to put in place innovative solutions to reduce disruptions of service delivery and minimize the suffering of people. VillageReach has been working with...
A Change of Wheels to Get Medicines to Health Centers
In Mozambique, getting medicines to provincial warehouses is only one step in the supply chain journey. From there, changemakers like Chaido Francisco Nomeado ensure those medicines get to remote health centers. Chaido is a dispatch clerk responsible for delivering medicines to six health centers...
Partnerships to Ensure Medicine Availability at the Health Facilities
In Zambézia province, VillageReach is working with the government to implement the USAID Last Mile Supply Chain (LMSC) Program, an intervention to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of the distribution of medicines. LMSC uses outsourced fourth-party logistics providers (4PLs) to manage distribution and transfer...
Delivering Medicines Against All Odds
Routine distributions of medicines to communities at the last mile in Mozambique have always been challenging due to long distances and poor road conditions. To make matters worse, January often brings heavy rains that flood rivers and wash away roads. On certain occasions, health...
Last Mile Heroes
Ensuring access Helena José Virgílio, José Maria, and Pedro Terezanane represent hundreds of heroes who, come rain or come shine, guarantee the availability of medicines and other medical commodities in health centers. As a result, patients countrywide have access to the medicines they need. ...
Preparing for Rotavirus in Mozambique
Ready, set, go! And they’re off! That’s how the introduction of Rotavirus happened in Mozambique. The country has been planning on this for a while, but, as often happens, it seems to come down to the wire to work out the details of how...
The Building Blocks of Vaccine Supply Chains – A Lego Experiment
It seems like a stretch—using Legos to find efficiencies in a vaccine supply chain. But that was the concept we worked with last week in Mozambique with representatives from both national and provincial level Ministry of Health, UNICEF, WHO, and VillageReach, led by the HERMES...
Shopping Around for Vaccine Supply Chains? Try it On.
How HERMES modeling tools allow decision-makers to see the impact of vaccine supply chain system changes- before they “buy.” You may not think that the world of fashion relates to vaccine supply chains, but let me make the connection. When shopping for that perfect...Background
In its efforts to provide quality health services to its citizens, the Government of Mozambique and USAID partnered with VillageReach to design and implement a streamlined, effective and integrated last mile supply chain system. The program began in Zambézia province, covering two districts, in October 2018. By the end of September 2021, LMSC had expanded to support monthly deliveries in all districts of 10 of Mozambique’s 11 provinces, covering a total of 1,500 health facilities.
Resources
Vaccine wastage in Ghana, Mozambique, and Pakistan: An assessment of wastage rates for four vaccines and the context, causes, drivers, and knowledge, attitudes and practices for vaccine wastage
Advancing Health for Women, Children, and Adolescents Amid Overlapping Crises: GFF Partnership Annual Report 2021-2022
Last Mile Supply Chain Overview 2022
The Path to an Integrated Public Health Supply Chain in Mozambique
Cadeia de abastecimento até à Unidade Sanitária
LMSC: Ensuring the availability of medical supplies at the last mile
Improved Last Mile Healthcare Delivery
Last Mile Supply Chain Overview
Outsourcing Transport to Improve Health at the Last Mile: A Case Study
Lessons Learned in Reaching the Final 20: Building a Next-Generation Immunization Supply Chain in Mozambique
Final 20 Policy Paper 6: Delivering the Money: The Importance of Efficient Financial Flows for Vaccine Distribution
Final 20 Policy Paper 5: Change Leadership – The Making or Breaking of an Immunization Supply Chain
Final 20 Policy Paper 4: Data for Management: It’s Not Just Another Report
Final 20 Expansion Grant
Final 20 Policy Paper 3 – System Design: Repair or Replace?
Program Impact
The Last Mile Supply Chain program delivers essential medicines and vaccines to more than 1,200 health centers in the Zambézia.
The primary goal of the LMSC program is to improve the availability of health products where they are needed for testing and treatment. Expected program outcomes include:
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- Supply chain information is used to strengthen accountability and planning between the provincial level and the health facility level.
- Transportation and logistics execution are improved.
- Appropriate control mechanisms are in place for distribution of health products throughout the province.
- Proven transportation and related logistic processes and tools are transferred to government.
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Partners
Government
- Mozambique Ministry of Health (MISAU)
- Centre for Drugs and Medical Supplies (CMAM)
- Provincial Health Directorate (DPS) and the Provincial Warehouse (DPM)
Technical Partners
- Project Last Mile
- Bolloré Transport & Logistics
- Aeris
- AEC
- Agility
- Nichols Group
- ThinkWELL
Donors
- USAID
Related Global Impact
See the latest updates from our work to improve access to quality healthcare in the world’s most underserved communities.