Ehijie Enato, Professor of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Benin (UNIBEN) in Nigeria, and President of simHealth Africa (Africa Society for Improved Health Delivery) became the deputy chair of the People that Deliver (PtD) coalition at the end of 2024. Find out why he ranks advocacy as his top priority and learn about the work he has already done to further supply chain management (SCM) professionalisation.
What will be your main focus as PtD deputy chair over the next two years?
Advocacy is at the centre of everything PtD does. For me, advocacy means convincing donors and countries that it’s worth investing in the supply chain workforce; that increasing the level of SCM professionalisation, developing leadership capability, and assessing and increasing workforce capacity really does make supply chains more efficient, increase access to health products, and ultimately, lead to improved health outcomes.
The Supply chain management (SCM) professionalisation framework and the Building human resources for SCM theory of change are just two of the many tools created by the PtD coalition that help countries and organisations to systematically identify gaps in their human resources and to address workforce challenges. These tools – and the work the PtD coalition does to help countries implement them – mean that countries are better able to plan, implement and monitor the health product related needs of their population.
I think it’s so important to share these tools in addition to providing guidance and support to country supply chain leaders, managers and other development partners so that they too can benefit from these resources made available by PtD. As a teacher, researcher, mentor and social entrepreneur, I’ve seen the benefits of SCM professionalisation myself, which is why I’m keen to share what I’ve learned and demonstrate its benefits to my students and peers. I see a brighter future for supply chain professionals, not only in the public and development sectors, but also, in the private sector. The work that supply chain professionals do ensures access to quality and affordable healthcare products and the attainment of universal health coverage.
Tell us a bit about your experience with SCM professionalisation
I have been engaged in several activities aimed at supply chain management professionalisation. For example, I worked on the National Supply Chain Integration Project (NSCIP) in Nigeria where my team developed and institutionalised supply chain education and practice at the federal and local levels. As head of the Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Practice (between 2012 and 2015) at UNIBEN, I introduced supply chain topics to the university’s undergraduate Doctor of Pharmacy programme. Also, in collaboration with several national and international organisations (including ministries of health, academic institutions and implementing partners), I initiated and ran international supply chain training workshops in Nigeria. In addition, as the convener, I led the team that designed and implemented the AHD Conference (Africa Conference on Healthcare Delivery). Furthermore, a couple of years ago, I led a team that developed a supply chain professionalisation framework for the national product management programme in Nigeria. Now we need to revise that document in line with the current reality and begin the process of implementation.
Finally, I must say that it is my pleasure, and I am always willing, to provide the needed leadership and coordination that will ensure full supply chain professionalisation and to serve as a mentor to students and young graduates interested in this profession.
Is there any PtD tool that you think is particularly useful?
I have over 25 years of experience in teaching, research and community engagement, and mentoring has always been a big part of my approach. I’ve always worked with students, youth, practitioners and members of my community to help them to establish themselves in supply chain management and to advance healthcare delivery systems.
I was so pleased to see PtD’s Work-based learning toolkit and Strategies for engaging youth in supply chain management careers. We have such an opportunity, especially in sub-Saharan Africa with a huge youth population, to attract the new generation to our field. Beyond the health benefits, supply chain will help to address the problem of youth unemployment in Africa and contribute to regional economic development. Therefore, we need to attract newcomers, so we should be doing all we can to make sure that academic and professional training opportunities are available, as well as all the on-the-job training initiatives – like traineeships, mentorships and job shadowing – which are detailed in the toolkit.
What do you think the role of the deputy chair should be?
Supporting the PtD coalition in its five-year strategy is my role, and being a strong advocate of the PtD coalition’s key messages is a key component of this. Supply chain management professionalisation is, of course, our main objective, and I will continue to advocate for more investments – from countries and donors – in the health supply chain workforce. Leadership development is also central to PtD’s five-year strategic plan (and remarkably close to my heart) and the STEP 2.0 leadership development programme is such an effective tool that I want as many supply chain leaders to benefit from it as possible.
Finally, it is noteworthy to mention that the advancements in professionalisation, leadership development – and the important collaborations made by the members of the PtD coalition as well as the connections made by participating in the PtD Global Indaba – would not have been possible without the sustained efforts of the PtD coalition. Indeed, the PtD Global Indaba is the only international conference on HR for health supply chain management. It is for this reason that ensuring the PtD secretariat is properly funded is so important: to enable the coalition to continue to thrive and really maximise the impact it has on the health supply chain workforce.
