A decision-making resource for ministries of health and organisations affiliated to public health who are considering outsourcing as an option to improve supply chain performance.
Date:
November 1, 2020
Author(s):
Africa Resource Centre
BACKGROUND
As African governments work towards implementing universal health coverage, knowledge and expertise sharing between the private and public sector is becoming an increasingly important contribution in support of building stronger health systems, including resilient supply chains, on the continent.
ARC’S ROLE
In response to the need for engagement between the private sector and governments in order to achieve universal health coverage, ARC, along with its partners, the United States Agency for International Development, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation convened a two-day supply chain roundtable workshop in Kampala, Uganda in February 2020. The roundtable was attended by representatives from seven African countries. One of the outcomes of this event was the development of an outsourcing toolkit to help supply chain service agreements between governments and the private sector as a means of improving public health supply chains in Africa. Through the outsourcing toolkit, ARC is supporting ministries of health through:
- ADVOCATING for the government’s ability to utilise private sector to improve supply chain performance.
- RE-IMAGINING certain supply chain service arrangements between governments and the private sector as a means of improving public health supply chains in Africa.
- CONNECTING multiple stakeholders by leveraging a range of partnerships and networks in bringing together various skills and expertise on how to approach outsourcing.
OUTCOMES AND IMPACT
WORKING TO INCORPORATE MULTIPLE COUNTRIES AND PORTFOLIOS
The toolkit supports outsourcing as an option that could improve healthcare service provision and can be applied across a range of countries and systems.
IMPACT: Case study examples from public and private sector showcasing practical examples of applicable outsourcing models are included in the toolkit.
STRENGTHENING HEALTH SUPPLY CHAINS BY APPLYING BEST PRACTICE
ARC is providing oversight and support in the development of the toolkit. Countries can use the toolkit to complement their existing outsourcing models in their context as strengthen their health supply chains.
IMPACT: The toolkit will make a detailed prioritised repository of templates and documents for supply chain outsourcing available to governments.
CREATING COLLABORATIVE LINKAGES BETWEEN THE PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR
The toolkit leverages outsourcing expertise from both the private and public sectors to develop best practices and robust case studies showing how proposed outsourcing approaches have been applied in real-world scenarios.
IMPACT: The toolkit will include: Advocacy guidance: Insights into the objective of outsourcing, when to outsource and what some of the generic benefits/costs/trade-offs are. Business case guidance: Detailed business case scoping and planning guidance. Outsourcing how-to guide: Detailed approach and process steps, including a high-level functional, chronological and geographical framework.
