Four Ways We Leveraged Partnerships to Make Sustainable Change in Kenya

By John Kamau Ngamau , Chief of Party, Afya Ugavi Activity (USAID/GHSC-PSM)?

Launched in October 2017, Afya Ugavi is a health system strengthening activity under the USAID Global Health Supply Chain Program-Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) project. Through this activity, we have worked alongside the Kenyan Ministry of Health (MOH) to strengthen Kenya’s health commodity supply chain across all levels of the supply chain. Afya Ugavi works with a wide range of health and supply chain partners to help build sustainability into Kenya’s systems, keeping an eye to the future.??

For me, leveraging these partnerships has been a key part of the project’s success in making sustainable change. Here’s how.?

1. A decentralized approach has led to better decision making. Afya Ugavi supported the MOH as it established a decentralized supply chain landscape, shifting to an approach that prioritizes input from county governments who know their local needs best. This included supporting both a national-level strategic plan and working directly with counties to co-create work plans (aligned with the broader five-year plan) to efficiently manage their supply chains. These plans factor in the counties’ unique challenges and approaches.? ?
2. Workers and trainees have increased access to learning and mentorship opportunities. Through training, mentorship, and learning and assessment tools, Afya Ugavi has provided health and logistics workers with the knowledge and resources they need to not only succeed in supply chain management, but to also train others, even when Afya Ugavi is no longer around. Afya Ugavi also helped launch and maintain, and contributed content to, a virtual academy managed by the MOH. The virtual academy makes interactive learning modules and reference materials available in a digital format for new workers and those who need to keep their certifications up to date. ? ?
3. Counties can plan for the future knowing their supply chain strengths and weaknesses. Afya Ugavi partnered with Kuehne-Nagel's development arm, HELP Logistics, to assist individual counties in conducting health supply chain assessments. The results allowed county Health Product and Technologies Units (HPTUs) — county-level supply chain management groups established and supported by Afya Ugavi — to capitalize on identified strengths and address gaps in areas needing improvement. HPTUs work closely with Afya Ugavi to make these changes. ? ?
4. Improved data and digital management systems will outlive Afya Ugavi. Online malaria and family planning commodity management dashboards created by Afya Ugavi have been adopted and institutionalized by the Kenya Health Information System (KHIS). The dashboards make supply chain data from all 47 counties available for any user. This data was once onerous to generate, but now is reliably entered by health and logistics workers all along the supply chain and can be easily accessed online through the KHIS. Afya Ugavi has also supported other supply chain partners, such as the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), to integrate their program data with KHIS and the dashboards, ensuring no data falls through the cracks. Ultimately, these efforts have led to better end-to-end data visibility for everyone in the health and supply chain sector, and better service for patients in our health system.?

The Afya Ugavi activity has created a legacy of collaboration and sustainability through skill enhancements, institutionalized learning, strategic planning, improved data systems and data visibility, and strengthened supply chain coordination across partners and stakeholders. These efforts will positively impact the availability of critical health supplies in Kenya for years to come.?