Our Experience:
State Technical Working Groups
An effective model to enable effective and sustainable supply chain systems
Situation
On entering Nigeria in 2004 as supply chain partner in FHI’s USAID-funded GHAIN project, Akesis quickly recognized the inefficiencies of multiple fragmented, vertical, disease specific supply chain systems that existed there, coupled with the challenges of an overly centralized, top-down approach to strengthening these supply chains.
In response, Akesis pioneered a range of innovations to address these issues in Nigeria. Akesis brought to bear the latest thinking and technology to address root causes to foster integration and achieve efficiencies at all levels of the supply chain in close collaboration with local stakeholders.
To facilitate integration and collaboration within and across states, Akesis developed a novel and unique model not previously used in Nigeria for supply chain management known as the State Technical Working Group (STWG).
Solution
At the beginning of Akesis’ work in Nigeria, the bulk of the country’s supply chain was centered around four national warehouses, which were responsible for the challenging task of up to the last mile delivery to more than 300 health facilities across the country.
To overcome this challenge without building parallel systems, Akesis signed MOUs with several Nigerian states to help run, manage and build up the state’s capacity to manage their own health commodities supply chain. As a result, nine improved state-owned regional warehouses were established across the country that were co-managed by Akesis. These new warehouses significantly built up each state’s infrastructure to manage their local supply chains.
Once the infrastructure was in place, building state-level capacity to ensure coordination among all involved players became a critical next step. For that reason, Akesis established technical working groups in each state consisting of Akesis state-level logistics officers, representatives from both the national government and State Ministries of Health, as well local care and treatment providers.
The state-level working groups were responsible for instituting good supply chain practices and centralizing decision-making through:
Promotion of supply chain best practices across the state
Ensuring the state had adequate resources to maintain its supply chain systems
Managing logistics, consumption data and communications with central warehouses
Once established, Akesis worked closely with the TWGs members to help build their capacity to forecast, quantify and procure commodities, manage storage through integrated pharma-compliant warehouses, distribute commodities to the last mile, monitor consumption, and effectively supervise and mentor local health facility staff.
Results
Over time, STWGs evolved into the Logistics Management Coordination Units (LMCU), which exist in every Nigerian state and are today a key structure in Nigeria’s supply chains. Since their development in 2004, STWGs have contributed significantly towards the sustainability of local supply chains by promoting ownership by local stakeholders.