Call for robust medicine supply system in hospitals

LAHOR: A five-day certificate course on Supply Chain Management started at the University of Health Sciences (UHS) with the collaboration of USAID on Monday.

Addressing at the inaugural session, Technical Adviser of USAID Global Health Supply Chain – Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) Programme, Dr Nisar Ahmad Cheema said the process of procurement, supply and distribution of medicine and other health commodities in public sector hospitals of the province was being made standardised, comprehensive and effective.

“We need a robust and transparent supply chain management system which will not only help eliminate the loss incurred due to expiry of medicines but also would ensure qualitative and quantitative needs of the end users,” he added.

Dr Nisar added the course, which was a part of an MoU signed between the UHS and USAID last year, would address the acute shortage of human resource for Supply Chain Management (SCM) in public sector organisations and improve the public health supply chain system in the country.

He highlighted the importance of introducing SCM course and said the programme was working closely with the Health and Population Welfare departments to create functional synergies across the country to make the supply chain operations up the international standards.

Prof Dr Shakila Zaman, Head of UHS Public Health department, said supply chain management should be a mandatory programme under the domain of Public Health and needed to be inculcated in the university’s regular training programs.

Calling it a subject of future, she urged the public health fraternity to become trained in delivering supply chain management health professionals. Lauding the efforts of the USAID GHSC-PSM project in launching the course, she expressed confidence that the course was going to impart on its participants global best practices in forecasting and quantification, procurement, warehousing, inventory management and create a legacy of scientific and judicious practices in institutions where the participants would return to.

The focal person of UHS for the course, Imran Hameed Khaliq, apprised the participants of the course objectives and goals and informed that this was the first ever course in supply chain management in any public sector university in Punjab. The officials from public and private sector including Punjab Health department, Green Star Social Marketing, and Rural Support Program Network are participating in the course.