From 2014 to 2020, the USAID-funded and MSH-led Uganda Health Supply Chain (UHSC) project worked to improve the health status of Ugandans by increasing the availability, affordability, accessibility, and appropriate use of quality essential medicines and health supplies.
Please use the key resources below to learn more about how UHSC helped Uganda’s pharmaceutical system combat disease, boost health outcomes, and improve the quality of health services.
1. Advancing leadership and governance for better regulation, financial management, and supply chain resilience
- A district-led approach—the Supervision, Performance Assessment, and Recognition Strategy (SPARS)—strengthened medicine management in government and private not-for-profit health facilities, promoting local ownership and paving the way for sustainable change. Read the technical brief
- Through Medicine and Therapeutic Committees (MTC), health facilities across Uganda can implement quality improvement interventions, ensuring a well-functioning supply chain and responsive health system that enables access to appropriate, high-quality medicines where and when they are needed. Read the technical brief
2. Strengthening inventory and logistics management systems
- To ensure an uninterrupted supply of essential medicines and effectively monitor store management in health facilities, the Uganda Ministry of Health (MoH) chose RxSolution, an integrated pharmaceutical management software. UHSC led the roll out of RxSolution, now in over 270 health facilities, improving access to real-time data and reducing the time it takes for health facility information to reach the MoH. Read the technical brief
- Public pharmaceutical-sector managers in Uganda previously relied on information gathered from multiple sources to plan for and manage health supplies at the national, district, and facility levels. UHSC developed an innovative web-based Pharmaceutical Information Portal (PIP), a data warehouse and business intelligence system that provides insight into the performance of the public-sector medicines supply chain. PIP enables real-time data collection for effective decision-making. Read the technical brief
- The MoH’s Quantification and Procurement Planning Unit (QPPU) acts as a coordinating platform to advocate for the allocation of funds and procurement of health commodities including antiretrovirals (ARVs); tuberculosis and malaria medicines; and reproductive and maternal and child health commodities. The QPPU helps identify funding needs and gaps, increase donor and government commitments, and improve accountability of resources. In 2020, Uganda increased its commitment to HIV commodity funding based on quantification insights gained from the QPPU. The QPPU, the heartbeat of the public health supply chain system, continues to be a one-stop data center connecting supply chain players, development partners, procurement agencies, MoH teams, districts, and health facilities. Read the story
- When an unexpected surge of malaria cases hit Uganda in 2019, UHSC supported the National Malaria Control Division in analyzing data and generating a dashboard of monthly stock status reports. UHSC then worked with the national medical stores, district health teams, and regional implementing partners to respond to the 81 affected areas with additional stocks of malaria drugs and testing kits, averting death and disease progression. Read the story
3. Making lifesaving medicines and supplies commodities for maternal and child health more available
- To address inequities in how resources are allocated across health facilities, UHSC employed a needs-based allocation formula to help ensure that resources meet local health needs. As a result, Ugandans receive quality essential medicines and health supplies from facilities that provide the same level of care, ultimately contributing to commodity security and improved health outcomes. Read the technical brief
- Four in 10 maternal deaths are caused by postpartum hemorrhage in Uganda. Intravenous oxytocin is the treatment of choice for managing postpartum hemorrhage but must be stored between 2oC and 8oC to remain effective. UHSC spearheaded a cost-effective solution to integrating oxytocin into the existing vaccine cold chain, so that health facilities and mothers in Uganda are assured the quality lifesaving medicine they need. Read the story
- Under a grant from the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition Innovation Fund, Management Sciences for Health conducted scoping studies in three countries. Based on findings on acceptability and feasibility, Uganda was selected to receive further support to integrate oxytocin into the vaccine cold chain. Read the report
- Thanks to UHSC’s standardized supply chain management training and tools, Betty Achilla and other community health workers across Uganda are now routinely capturing the information needed to plan, quantify, order, deliver, and track the supplies and commodities they need. Read the story
4. Supporting the scale up of Uganda’s HIV and AIDS response
- In collaboration with the Pharmacy Department and AIDS Control Program, with funding from the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and USAID, UHSC provided 26 prefabricated storage units to 22 districts, addressing the challenge of limited storage space for commodities to test for and treat HIV. Health providers can now track and dispense medicines, ARV medicines are always available, and people living with HIV can consistently receive the treatment they need. Read the story
5. Strengthening the national supply chain for outbreak and epidemic preparedness
- UHSC currently supports the COVID-19 response by providing real-time data on the availability of medicines and medical supplies at both national and district levels. The electronic Emergency Logistics Management Information System, also known as eELMIS, created by UHSC, enables the rapid collection, sharing, management, analysis, and reporting of data to inform coordination and timely decision making during any public health emergency, including COVID-19. Read the story
Journal articles
- Pharmaceutical System Strengthening in Uganda: Implementing a Holistic, Evidence-informed, Long-term Strategy
- Longitudinal Study Assessing the One-year Effects of Supervision Performance Assessment and Recognition Strategy (SPARS) to Improve Medicines Management in Uganda Health Facilities
- Evaluating Inter-rater Reliability of Indicators to Assess Performance of Medicines Management in Health Facilities in Uganda
- Competency in Supportive Supervision: A Study of Public Sector Medicines Management Supervisors in Uganda
- An Exploratory Study on Equity in Funding Allocation for Essential Medicines and Health Supplies in Uganda's Public Sector
- Supervision, Performance Assessment, and Recognition Strategy (SPARS): A Multipronged Intervention Strategy for Strengthening Medicines Management in Uganda: Method Presentation and Facility Performance at Baseline
- First Regulatory Inspections Measuring Adherence to Good Pharmacy Practices in the Public Sector in Uganda: A Cross-Sectional Comparison of Performance between Supervised and Unsupervised Facilities
Social Media
USAID and Uganda's Ministry of Health celebrate improved supply chain systems for greater health impact in #Uganda. http://ow.ly/Z2bF50AMh4F @MinofHealthUG @usmissionuganda @USAIDGH @USAIDEastAfrica @USAIDAfrica @USAIDUganda @JaneRuth_Aceng @MSHHealthImpact #HandInHandWithUganda
@USAIDGH's Uganda Health Supply Chain project has made a long-lasting impact on #Uganda’s health sector by creating a consistent and reliable system to manage the supply chain for essential medicines and medical supplies. Read the press release: http://ow.ly/Z2bF50AMh4F @MSHHealthImpact
We're celebrating 6 years of strengthening #PharmaSystems for greater health impact in #Uganda under @USAIDUganda Health Supply Chain project. https://youtu.be/1I2C2qaibjA @GovUganda @usmissionuganda @MinofHealthUG @MSHHealthImpact
With support from @USAIDUganda Health Supply Chain project, @MinofHealthUg made major strides in increasing the availability, affordability, and appropriate use of medicines and health supplies throughout the country. Learn how: https://spark.adobe.com/page/DX7SEpQfvKw9o/ @MSHHealthImpact
How do strong #PharmaSystems work to combat disease, boost health outcomes, and improve the quality of health services? Explore the resource hub to learn how @USAIDUganda Health Supply Chain project improved access to medicines in #Uganda: https://spark.adobe.com/page/DX7SEpQfvKw9o/ @MSHHealthImpact
Uganda’s fortified #PharmaSystem ensures greater access to medicines, equipment, and supplies where and when they are needed. Browse the virtual resource hub to learn how @MinofHealthUg and @USAIDUganda partnered to make this happen https://spark.adobe.com/page/DX7SEpQfvKw9o/ @MSHHealthimpact