In collaboration with the national programmes and partners, UNOPS-PR procurement and supply management team regularly visits warehouses and storage facilities to support partners in logistics management in their implementation of the Global Fund grants.
Health staff working in remote duty stations need regular capacity building and a supportive working environment. It is good for their motivation, which will ultimately improve the quality of healthcare provided to vulnerable rural communities, towards enhancing health services for all in Myanmar.
For more efficient health programme implementation, health staff stationed in remote health posts should have continuous support and on-the-job training to improve their knowledge and skills in health programme management, including logistics management.
Most of the storage facilities are situated in remote health stations and health staff working there often find themselves overwhelmed by high workload, which they have to manage making the best use of available resources. They have to undertake several different tasks simultaneously, including logistics management, financial management, data management, health information management, coordination and reporting, and these are often beyond the call of duty and what they have been trained for—which is primarily to provide healthcare.
UNOPS-PR is providing support in logistics management, in store/warehouse management and distribution activities, to forecast, order, deliver, receive, store and distribute essential medicines and health commodities.
UNOPS-PR Logistics Associate Hnin Wai Lwin was pleased to find properly filled forms and formats at Hakha NAP store during a field visit to Chin State this year. “This on-site training and support in logistics management is tailored to the needs of respective state/regional health posts for better efficiency and productivity of programme implementation. It is planned to reach every State/Region at least once a year, depending on their logistics support needs,” she explains.
This support will help health staff to be able to proactively find solutions in drug stock management and prevent stock-outs of essential medicines and health commodities, procured with Global Fund grants. It also aims to enhance their problem solving capabilities to make best use of the available space, infrastructure and other resources.
Hakha Township NAP Trained Nurse Kim Hua Hau looks forward to regular logistics support through future field visits. “We are making the most out of all available resources. I would like to thank UNOPS-PR logistics team for coming all the way here, despite difficult mountain roads and harsh weather. I find their support very useful, as they remind me of the points that I have forgotten in filling forms and formats,” she says.
In close collaboration with the national programmes and partners and through regular logistics monitoring visits, UNOPS-PR is making sure that adequate quantities of essential medicines and health commodities procured with Global Fund support are always available for the most vulnerable communities in Myanmar.
