Country Overview

Uganda’s adult HIV prevalence rate of 5.4 percent in 2008 is a sharp drop from the over 20 percent rate of the 1990s

Uganda has made significant progress in addressing the HIV epidemic. According to UNAIDS Uganda’s adult HIV prevalence rate of 5.4 percent in 2008 is a sharp drop from the over 20 percent rate of the 1990s. With much success in helping change HIV-related behaviors to reduce new infection, the country is viewed by many international organizations as a model for developing effective public health education programs. In October 2008, the country launched a five-year strategic plan aimed at decreasing the rate of new infections by 40 percent and increasing access to HIV/AIDS services.

SCMS has supported the government of Uganda’s efforts by helping strengthen the country’s national supply chain for HIV/AIDS commodities. The supply chain includes many multi-sector stakeholders, from the Ministry of Health to faith-based and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), with varied capacities and approaches to coordination.

As of June 2009, SCMS phased down its technical assistance portfolio and after September 1  focused on providing procurement services to local partners such as the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU), the Northern Uganda Malaria, AIDS and Tuberculosis program (NUMAT), and the Joint Clinical Research Council (JCRC).

Technical assistance was completed for support to the JCRC in its roll-out of a new laboratory supplies logistics system, and the current project to install a new warehouse information management system at the National Medical Store (NMS) is expected to be completed by the end of November.

Activities and Impact

Procurement: In order to prevent a stock out of ARV items, SCMS procured $1,048,971 in ARVs in October 2008 and March 2009, in anticipation of pending Global Fund deliveries. As of June 2009, SCMS has procured $4,061,900 in pharmaceuticals and health-related commodities.

Quantification and forecasting:

• SCMS supported the Ministry of Health AIDS Control Program (MOH ACP) and the Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC) prepare the Global Fund Round 9 country proposal. The preparation involved the forecasting medicine for the comprehensive provision of ART and basic care to children for the period of July 2011 to June 2015.
• SCMS in collaboration with MOH and all ART implementing partners carried out a four year national forecast of ARVs for the period of 2009 to 2012. The findings were disseminated to all stakeholders in a one day workshop and will be used by the MOH to plan and update national ARV requirements, resource mobilization plans, and in-country PEPFAR program budgets.
• The SCMS Support Supervision Team conducted a one-week facility orientation workshop for four regional health officials with the goal of creating supportive supervisors to strengthen data collection rates at the health facility level which have dropped over time. The officials received orientation to the various HIV/AIDS commodities logistics systems (HIV test, ARVs, OI drugs, etc.) and had site tours to the central-level warehouse.

Logistics Capacity Building:

• In the spring of 2009 SCMS facilitated a lab logistics system design workshop for JCRC where a new system was designed and approved by its senior management. The JCRC is responsible for providing lab services for the 34,000 clients they have on ART. In order to support their work, an SCMS Lab Logistics Advisor has been seconded to the central public health laboratory to provide ongoing lab technical assistance and capacity building. SCMS also conducted a training of trainers in May to further support rolling out the implementation of this logistics management system.
• In March 2009 SCMS conducted a Training of Trainers for 34 Ministry of Health (MOH) PMTCT focal staff and provided technical and financial support to the implementation of a country wide PMTCT Logistics roll out countrywide training

Warehouse management:

• SCMS provided technical assistance to Uganda in strengthening its warehousing and inventory control. The technical assistance to the Joint Medical Store (JMS) included the restructuring of its warehouse management and financial system, and installing the state-of-the-art Warehouse Management Information System (MACS) and the SAGE Financial system and providing technical assistance in their use. The system uses hand-held terminals, combined with radio frequency, enabling transmission of data remotely from the warehouse to the database as a central location. The new system went live in September 2008.
• SCMS has procured and delivered warehouse racking for both the JMS and the NMS to help improve warehouse inventory and space management.
• As requested by the National Medical Store (NMS), SCMS is currently installing the same MACS system in the NMS central warehouse in order to help strengthen their information management capacity and the effectiveness of their operations.