Lusaka, Zambia
12 October, 2022
Zambia’s minister of health, Sylvia Masebo, opened the PtD Global Indaba today in front of over 200 delegates from governments, public and private sector partners, and donor and multilateral organisations.
“This conference could not have been held at a better time,” she said, before adding, “The successful procurement, storage and distribution of essential medicines and other medical supplies is critical for maintaining the health of all citizens.”
Organised by People that Deliver (PtD), a 28-strong coalition housed at the headquarters of UNICEF Supply Division in Copenhagen, the Indaba is the first conference to focus on human resources (HR) for supply chain management (SCM) to take place in Africa. The theme of the inaugural Indaba is human resources for supply chain management: the missing link to maximising supply chain performance.
In the afternoon the health minister will be joined by Anne-Maryse K’Habore from the Purchasing Centre for Generic Essential Drugs and Medical Consumables (CAMEG) in Burkina Faso and Terry Ramadhani from the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority to discuss how to enhance political will and build an enabling environment for robust human resources for supply chain management at country and regional level.
According to PtD chair Lloyd Matowe, the Global Indaba is a milestone occasion for HR for SCM, not only in Africa but across health systems throughout low- and middle-income countries.
“The World Health Organisation and the entire public health community agree that universal health coverage cannot be achieved without an adequately-staffed and -skilled health workforce.
“The Global Indaba offers the perfect platform to help countries support the health supply chain workforce; decision makers can share their common challenges and innovative solutions, and donors and development partners can hear about where investment is lacking,” he said.
The two-day conference, which has attracted delegates from over 40 countries, is centred on presentations, panel discussions and workshops aligned with the four pathways of the PtD Theory of Change: skills, staffing, motivation and working conditions.
On Tuesday 11 October the Association for Supply Chain Management – one of the sponsors of the Global Indaba – hosted a workshop on supply chain sustainability and maturity. On the same day the Global Fund (another sponsor) and Empower School of Health hosted a forum that invited participants – largely in-country supply chain leaders and donors – to exchange their experiences. On Friday 14 October Johnson & Johnson will hold a session on women in supply chain leadership.
View the full programme here.
The Global Indaba is organised by People that Deliver with the support of its coalition members, in particular the International Association of Public Health Logisticians (IAPHL), Management Sciences for Health (MSH), Pharmaceutical Systems Africa and SAPICS.
The Association for Supply Chain Management, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria, the Partnership for Improving supply Chain Management in Africa, Chemonics, VillageReach and Pamela Steele Associates have all been announced as sponsors of the Global Indaba.
