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- In this edition -
April 2018 | Issue 2
Service spotlight - Quality:
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F E A T U R E S T O R Y
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PFSCM implements One Network's Control Tower solution to strengthen health supply chains for developing countries
PFSCM is pleased to announce that it is implementing a unique cloud-based Control Tower tracking solution from One Network Enterprises, a global leader in artificial intelligence-powered networks.
One Network's Supply Chain Control Tower solution will advance PFSCM's
end-to-end supply chain visibility.
PFSCM, which has a long history of innovating and driving fundamental improvements in the performance of global health supply chains, is migrating critical requisition, order, and transportation management functions into its existing One Network Real Time Value Network (RTVN) decision-making supply chain suite.
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P F S C M B L O G P O S T
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by Sinette Goosen
Globally, the efforts to end malaria in endemic, high-burden countries are vast and ongoing.
The fight against malaria brings together thousands of entities, from researchers, manufacturers, governments, and funders, to humanitarian groups and non-government organizations (NGOs). Supporting these institutions in their work is a myriad of interwoven service providers (SPs), executing many unseen tasks.
Among these SPs is the public health supply chain, working diligently to ensure:
- Best value and quality products are procured to make available funds go further.
- Commodities reach the point of care, on time and in full.
- Infrastructure, such as storage facilities, are developed along the supply chain to ensure compliant pharma-grade storage of products.
- Chain of custody is enforced through technology that captures information about shipment location, product integrity, and patient consumption.
On World Malaria Day 2018, the
Partnership for Supply Chain Management
(PFSCM) reflects on some of its most recent successes achieved in sourcing and moving complex and sensitive malaria commodities to some of the hardest-to-reach places on earth.
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S E R V I C E S P O T L I G H T : Q U A L I T Y
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Four common compliance challenges faced by pharmaceutical wholesalers and distributors in Africa
In 2017, PFSCM embarked on a campaign to pre-qualify pharmaceutical distributors and wholesalers in Africa, ensuring that we and others procure only the best quality, compliant products close to the point of care.
Last year, PFSCM audited more than 58 suppliers in eight African countries. In total, 37 (63%) of the 58 vendors passed the pre-qualification audits.
PFSCM Product Quality Assurance Unit Manager Stephen Kimatu explains that vendors are pre-qualified in accordance with the World Health Organization's (WHO) Model Quality Assurance System (MQAS) for Procurement Agencies.
Audit results show that the majority of vendors scored less than 80% on the WHO MQAS pre-qualification and re-assessment criteria and/or failed on the Quality Control (QC) criteria for testing products in an ISO/IEC 17025-certified or WHO-PQ quality control laboratory.
However, these vendors do comply with the various general requirements specified in the WHO MQAS. These include quality management; organization structure; documentation; self-inspection; product recalls; complaint handling; handling of recalled, rejected, or returned goods; security; and record keeping processes.
Most vendors also scored sufficiently on purchasing or procurement practices and complied with specifications pertaining to the receipt and storage of purchased products.
Through ongoing engagement with vendors, PFSCM identified four key challenges faced by distributors and wholesalers in Africa.
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I N D U S T R Y N E W S and V I E W S
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EECAAC 2018: Global best practices for the procurement of HIV commodities
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Adhering to global best practices for the procurement of HIV commodities is key to ensuring that a cost-effective and reliable supply of readily available, quality medicines is accessible to patients.
The
World Health Organization's (WHO's) guidelines and recommendations provide the
backbone for best procurement, distribution, quality testing, and patient regimen practices, ensuring safe, effective, and sustainable treatment.
However, the successful execution of these instructions rests with the
countries,
governments, and
agencies managing the supply chains.
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Even though tuberculosis (TB) is a curable disease, it is still responsible for
4,500 deaths a day.
The reasons behind this are complex and interwoven.
Massive global endeavors to address the ever-evolving challenges through research, development, and investment are ongoing. One area of focus for the World Health Organization (WHO) and global stakeholders is the development of
simpler-to-use drugs and
treatment regimens that will encourage
higher treatment adherence and
simplify logistics, while
reducing drug resistance.
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