Resources:

Equitable Delivery of COVID-19 Vaccines: Lessons from Sub-Saharan Africa

Based on consultations with key stakeholders in seven African countries where we operate, VillageReach has compiled lessons learned and recommendations to help governments and partners equitably deliver COVID-19 vaccines, and ultimately, save lives…

Democratic Republic of Congo Overview

VillageReach’s story in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) began in 2015, when we started working with the Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene and Prevention (MoH) on an evaluation of the supply chain, which led to the design of the Next Generation of Supply Chain Initiative (Nouvelle Génération des Chaînes d’Approvisionnement, NGCA). Since 2017, when it was implemented in the Equateur province, the supply chain transformation has increased the availability of vaccines and other health products in hard-to-reach communities. In 2021, it extended into seven provinces. Through a radical collaboration with the MoH, VillageReach continues to strengthen the health system through new innovations…

VillageReach République Démocratique du Congo

L’histoire de VillageReach en République démocratique du Congo (RDC) a démarré en 2015, lorsqu’ elle a commencé à travailler avec le Ministère de la Santé Publique, Hygiène et Prévention dans l’évaluation sur l’optimisation de la chaine d’approvisionnement, qui a conduit à la conception de l’initiative « Nouvelle Génération des Chaînes d’Approvisionnement » (NGCA). Depuis 2017, date de sa mise en œuvre dans la province de l’Équateur, sa transformation de la chaîne d’approvisionnement a permis une plus grande disponibilité de vaccins et autres produits de santé dans les communautés peu accessibles. En 2021, cette initiative s’est étendu dans sept provinces. Grâce à une collaboration radicale avec le Ministère de la Santé et les partenaires techniques et financiers, VillageReach continue de renforcer le système de santé par des innovations…

Professionalizing the Supply Chain Workforce

VillageReach will support national governments to develop a path to professionalizing health supply chain management as a recognized discipline, supported by local professional associations and training institutions. This work is part of a catalytic investment from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, called Supply Chain Integrators, which aims to build health supply chains that are demand-driven, resilient and integrated.

SC4CHWs: A New Approach in Liberia

A new $1.5 million investment from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria allows the Liberian MoH and VillageReach to launch a new project over the next two years in Bomi and Margibi counties. With this funding VillageReach will test new ways to connect CHAs to the public health supply chain in Liberia, furthering our mission to transform health care delivery to reach everyone…

Integradores da Cadeia de Abastecimento: Catalisando Transformações nos Cuidados de Saúde Primários

A iniciativa Integradores da Cadeia de Abastecimento da VillageReach é um investimento catalisador para construir cadeias de abastecimento de saúde resilientes, integradas e orientadas pela demanda.

Intégrateurs de la chaîne d’approvisionnement: Catalyser les transformations dans les soins de santé primaires

VillageReach travaille avec les gouvernements à la transformationde la prestation de soins de santé afin de toucher tout lemonde par le renforcement des chaînes d’approvisionnement,les approches technologiques en vue de la prestation de soinsde santé primaires (SSP) et la collaboration avec le secteurpriv…

VillageReach Overview Portuguese

A VillageReach transforma a prestação de cuidados de saúde para alcançar a todos. Nosso trabalho aumenta o acesso de 46 milhões de pessoas a cuidados de saúde de qualidade…

Case Study: The Practical Application of the Journey to Scale Tool

This case study provides an overview of how the “Journey to Scale with Government” Tool can serve as a mechanism to bring stakeholders together to design, implement and eventually embed a solution into the public sector.

Malawi Overview

VillageReach has worked in Malawi since 2008, collaborating with the Ministry of Health (MoH), the private sector and other partners to develop and implement high-impact sustainable solutions. Our work improves health care delivery by giving people the power to make informed decisions about their health and wellbeing, and ultimately improves health access for 18 million Malawians.

Supply Chain Integrators: Catalyzing Transformations in Primary Health Care

VillageReach’s Supply Chain Integrators is a catalytic investment to build health supply chains that are demand-driven, resilient and integrated.

Aperçu général de VillageReach

VillageReach développe une technologie locale appropriée qui relie les communautés, les agents de santé et les gouvernements. Elle permet aux ministères de la santé d’accéder à des données précises et en temps opportun pour la prise de décisions.

VillageReach Overview

VillageReach develops locally appropriate technology that connects people, health workers and governments. It enables ministries of health to access timely and accurate data for decision-making. Read the overview.

Optimized Supply Chain Model Reduces Health System Costs in DRC

In 2017, an optimized immunization supply chain (iSC) model was implemented in Equateur Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The optimized model aimed to address iSC challenges and featured direct deliveries to service delivery points (SDPs), longer replenishment intervals and increased cold chain capacity. This assessment examines iSC costs before and 5 months after implementing the optimized model.

Positioning Private Sector Engagement For Success Through A Multi-Supplier Strategy

Outsourcing can provide governments with access to efficient, reliable services that leverage the private sector’s know-how and existing assets.  Partly due to the COVID-19 response, there is an increasing focus on using private sector logistics firms for in-country public health logistics operations, mostly for warehousing and transportation.  In addition to competition, using multiple suppliers, through a multi-supplier strategy, can have major benefits.

Through the years, VillageReach has brokered public-private partnerships successfully, and it believes that the global health sector is just scratching the surface of possibilities. To promote this model, this briefing was produced to share learnings on the important topic of multi-supplier strategy based on VillageReach work introducing private sector capacity into public health supply chains.

Also posted on medium.com.

A VillageReach Moçambique

A história da VillageReach começou em Moçambique há mais de 20 anos, onde começámos a trabalhar para fortalecer cadeias de abastecimento e levar produtos de saúde às pessoas. Hoje, a nossa abordagem de concepção de cadeias de abastecimento, em colaboração com o Ministério da Saúde (MISAU), contribuiu para o aumentou da vacinação em crianças e ajudou a garantir a disponibilidade de medicamentos para as comunidades em zonas de difícil acesso.

VillageReach Mozambique Overview

VillageReach’s story began in Mozambique over 20 years ago, where we started work to strengthen supply chains and get products to people. Today, our supply chain design approach, in collaboration with the Ministério da Saúde de Moçambique (MISAU), has increased childhood vaccinations and helped ensure health products are available to under-reached communities.

2020 Annual Report

2020 Annual Impact Report

Equity approach to cold chain deployment: Application in Pakistan

Functioning cold chain equipment (CCE) for vaccine storage is an essential component of an end-to-end cold chain. A three-part process was developed to identify priority areas for CCE deployment and thus reduce inequities in immunization coverage. This approach involves analysing the relationship between available cold chain storage capacity, the required cold chain capacity to immunize target populations and current programme performance (such as coverage and equity). Read the report. 

Getting Products to People: Challenges with Last Mile Supply Chain Financing and Recommendations for Funders and Governments

This paper describes four challenges to last mile supply chain financing and draws from our collective experience supporting last mile supply chains, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa:

1. Delayed or inefficient fund disbursement prevents timely health product distribution;
2. Inefficient use of available funds constrains their impact;
3. Insufficient financing for last mile supply chain operations impedes activities; and
4. Actual supply chain costs are unknown.

O Percurso Para Expandir Com O Governo

Uma ferramenta interactiva para navegar rumo às soluções próprias do governo que têm impacto sustentável em escala. Veja aqui: https://www.villagereach.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/SpringImpact-JourneyToScale-portuguese.pdf

Objectifs et Stratégies 2020-2023

VillageReach objectifs e stratégies 2020-2023 (French)

Cadeia de Abastecimento de Saúde Pública Integrada em Moçambique

Um aumento do número e variedade de medicamentos em Moçambique significa um maior acesso aos produtos de saúde necessários para muitos moçambicanos. No entanto, volumes maiores, custos mais elevados e a extensão dos cuidados de saúde a mais comunidades podem sobrecarregar até as cadeias de abastecimento mais sofisticadas. O Ministério da Saúde de Moçambique (MISAU) começou a implementar um plano denominado Plano Estratégico de Logística Farmacêutica (PELF) para ajudar a enfrentar estes desafios. O PELF concede direitos à Central de Medicamentos e Artigos Médicos (CMAM) a integrar plenamente a cadeia de abastecimento com o objectivo de melhorar a distribuição de todos os produtos de saúde em todo o país.

Objectivos e Estratégias 2020-2023

VillageReach objectivos e estratégias 2020-2023 (Portuguese)

Drones for Health: Boosting Access to Lifesaving Products

VillageReach has partnered with stakeholders at local, regional and
global levels since 2015 to explore the use of unmanned aircraft systems
(UAS) for health. UAS, also referred to as unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAVs), or drones, are being evaluated for integration into health systems
alongside traditional land- and water-based modes of transportation.
Drones have the potential to improve the availability of health products,
increase equity of access, and save time and money compared to ground
transportation particularly in geographically challenging areas.

Fazendo Uma Boa Transição: Criando Soluções Sustentáveis

Uma vez comprovado o impacto de uma solução, a nossa abordagem é a transição da sua gestão e/ou operação para o governo. Acreditamos que esta
abordagem oferece maior probabilidade de uma solução alcançar um impacto duradouro à escala.

Pour une bonne transition : Bâtir des solutions durables

Notre démarche consiste à transférer au gouvernement, la gestion et les opérations de toute solution ayant fait ses preuves. Cette approche permet, d’assurer la pérennité et l’impact à grande échelle d’une solution.

The Path to an Integrated Public Health Supply Chain in Mozambique

A surge in the number and variety of medicines in Mozambique means greater access to needed health products for many Mozambicans. Yet larger volumes, higher costs and extending health care into more communities can tax even the most sophisticated supply chains. Mozambique’s Ministry of Health (Ministério da Saúde or MISAU in Portuguese) began implementing a plan called Plano Estratégico de Logística Farmacêutica1 (PELF) to help address these challenges.

Benefits of integration include optimizing the use of resources, maximizing transport and storage utilization, leveraging cost savings and decreasing health worker time on logistics.

Integrating Eyeglasses into Community Health Supply Chains in Liberia

The Liberia Ministry of Health’s National Eye Health Department is rolling out vision screening and dispensing of eye glasses within the community health system in 2020 in partnership with EYElliance, a coalition increasing access to eyeglasses. VillageReach is working with these partners to integrate eyeglasses into the community health supply chain to allow for vision screening and dispensing of eye glasses to be provided by Community Health Assistants in Liberia.

OpenLMIS Features Overview

OpenLMIS is a powerful, open source, electronic logistics management information system (LMIS) purpose-built to manage health commodity supply chains. OpenLMIS offers a host of features that are all interlinked to provide seamless data exchange and optimize data visibility and analytics. All of the features can be used in conjunction with each other or there is an option to de-activate any features that are not relevant.

Landscape Analysis of Electronic Immunization Registries

VillageReach launched a landscape analysis in 2019 to identify EIR implementations in Low and Middle Income countries (LMICs) and identify lessons in sustainability, implementation planning, functional requirements and improving equity.  This research, begun in spring 2019, was part of planning for the implementation of an Electronic Immunization Registry (EIR) in Mozambique to increase vaccination coverage and equity, improve data quality and resiliency, and address health care worker data burden. The findings have influenced our approach to this work and are presented as a means of sharing these insights more broadly.

Last Mile Supply Chain Overview

A4 size. In its efforts to provide quality health services to its citizens, the Government of Mozambique and USAID have partnered with VillageReach to design and implement a streamlined and effective last mile supply chain system. This piece is an overview of the Last Mile Supply Chain (LMSC) program.

Transitioning Well Overview

Once we prove a solution’s impact, our approach is to transition its management and/or operation to the government. We believe that this approach provides the greatest chance for a solution to achieve sustained impact at scale. VillageReach launched an initiative called Transitioning Well in 2019 to guide our approach and engage stakeholders in transitioning solutions.

Promoting Equitable Health Product Access through Supply Chain Design

Too often, vaccines and other essential health products are not available when and where they are needed, particularly in under-served populations. VillageReach has developed a four-step guide for governments and implementing partners to purposefully consider equity in supply chain design, with a particular focus on reaching four populations: the urban poor, people living in conflict settings, remote or rural populations and migrants.

Guide for Promoting Equitable Health Product Access Through Supply Chain Design

Ensuring that health products are available and accessible for everyone is a critical part of primary health care, and essential to achieving universal health coverage.However, high quality health products are not always available when needed, particularly in under-served populations: urban poor, remote or rural communities, migrants and people impacted by conflict. Supply chains can be adapted to be responsive to people’s needs and preferences. VillageReach developed a four-step guide for governments and implementing partners to purposefully consider equity in supply chain design.

Learning Network Informant Summary

A summary of interviews with nearly 40 stakeholders that explores practical challenges to government adoption of solutions where sustained impact at scale
requires government ownership, management or operation and gathers input on forming a collaborative network to address these challenges.

M-Vaccin Overview

In Côte d’Ivoire, a public-private partnership called M-Vaccin
planned to use mobile technology to improve vaccine coverage in 50
health districts across the country. The French telecommunications
company Orange, in collaboration with Gavi, the Ministry of Health
and VillageReach, customized an application that uses text and voice
messaging to inform caregivers about the importance of vaccination
and send appointment reminders in local languages.

Goals and Strategies 2020 - 2023

The current articulation (2020-2023) of VillageReach’s mission, goals and strategies.

Improved Last Mile Healthcare Delivery

A case study was developed in collaboration with Aeris to look at the impacts of the introduction of a Vehicle Tracking System (VTS) in Tete Province and its role in transport optimization.

Health Center by Phone (CCPF) Overview

The Malawi Ministry of Health and Population and VillageReach developed Health Center by Phone as a community-based hotline in the Balaka district of Malawi. Health Center by Phone extends the reach of the health care system to every community by providing access to certified health and nutrition information and services via a toll-free number.

Increasing Access to Health Products in the DRC

This document focuses on creating a more efficient, effective and resilient supply chain with the Next Generation Supply Chain Initiative in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It summarizes the five pillars of transformation, the benefits to the health system, and considerations for scaling or adapting the initiative within and beyond Equateur Province.