Establishment of a regional medication distribution centre in South Kivu
Project description
Title: Establishment of a regional medication distribution centre in South Kivu
Commissioned by: Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
Financier: Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Lead executing agency: Ministry of Health of Bukavu Province
Overall term: 2018 to 2021
Context
Establishing stable and comprehensive health care in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a huge challenge. This is partly due to the region’s geographical conditions.
At present, the quality of the available medical products is inadequate and there is also a lack of important basic medicines. Only a small proportion of medical facilities comply with national health care standards. Income from medication sales is not used to reorder products, but rather to cover personnel costs.
Objective
A regional medication distribution centre has been established in Bukavu, which serves as a model for other provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Approach
The project is connected to the Support to the Health System in South Kivu Province (PASS) programme. It helps to improve the management of infrastructure, medicines and health information.
To this end, the project is overhauling the existing supply management, the administration of stocks and the distribution of essential medicines to health centres in outlying areas. As part of a public-private partnership, a public-benefit distribution centre has been set up, which is integrated into the national health care policy with regard to the supply of medicines (PNAME). Partners include the Ministry of Health of Bukavu Province, the Federation of Essential Drug Procurement Agencies (FEDECAME) and the health department of South Kivu province (DPS).
The South Kivu public-benefit distribution centre was built during the first phase of the project and is now in operation. The centre will continue to receive support and technical assistance from the Support to the Health System in South Kivu Province (PASS) programme. All the steps in setting up the medication distribution centre are documented and can serve as a model for other regions.
Last update: August 2021