New Leadership and Strategic Plan to Further Goals of the People that Deliver Initiative

 

Uganda has run out of most antiretroviral drugs, HIV testing kits, drugs to treat opportunistic infections, and several crucial diagnostic tools for HIV care, according to a recent Ministry of Health stock status report. The People that Deliver (PtD) Initiative hopes to change this dire situation in Uganda and prevent it from happening in other countries by scaling up human resources involved in supply chain management. 

 

While an increasing number of people on antiretroviral therapy in low- and middle-income countries (from one million in 2002 to over nine million in 2012) represents enormous success in expanding access to therapy, it also represents an increasing amount of medicines and other supplies that must be procured, transported, stored, and administered to patients through public health supply chains. A variety of health workers contribute to the supply chain—from supply chain managers to pharmacists, nurses, doctors, and other clinical and nonclinical workers. That’s where PtD comes in; PtD is a global coalition working to improve the health supply chain workforce in developing countries. This initiative is based on global recognition that without trained professionals to manage the health supply chain, drugs and other supplies do not reach the patients who need them. 

 

The goals of PtD will be further boosted by the appointment of an Executive Manager, Dr. Andrew Brown, and the adoption of a new five-year Strategic Plan at the 9th PtD Board meeting in Lyon, France in June 2013. CapacityPlus led the development of the five-year Strategic Plan. 

 

The PtD initiative was established in 2011 to build global and national capacity to plan, finance, develop, support, and retain the national workforces needed for the effective management of health supply chains. Since then, more than 80 international and country members have joined the Initiative, including CapacityPlus and the project's lead partner IntraHealth International. CapacityPlus’s Rebecca Bailey is a board member of PtD and IntraHealth’s Barbara Stilwell is the co-chair.

 

“People that Deliver is bridging the global gap between the human resources for health and supply chain management communities, and has recognized that building sustainable excellence in the supply chain management workforce must expand beyond short-term training to encompass strategic planning, policy making, education, finance, employment and retention of this critical workforce, which is essential for ensuring universal access to health care,” says Bailey.

 

“Over the next 12 months and beyond, the Initiative will develop specific guidance and tools to equip organizations and countries to better address HR issues for tangible results,” explains Dr. Brown. CapacityPlus looks forward to continuing to support PtD’s health supply chain strengthening in order to ensure patients receive the care they need.

 

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