Resources

JSH in collaboration with USAID DISCOVER-Health and Zambia Partners Against COVID-19 (ZPAC-19) entered into an agreement with Prudential Life Assurance Ltd to print COVID-19 IEC materials in all the 7 major local languages and to distribute them to traditional leaders across the country. These materials were aimed at reinforcing COVID-19 messaging and the adoption of COVID-19 preventive behaviors, as well as encouraging timely access to care for those who are symptomatic. This support from Prudential Life Assurance has assisted chiefdoms cement gains in behavior change, to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.

The USAID eSCMIS project is working with the Ministry of Health, Medical Stores Limited, the Churches Health Association of Zambia (CHAZ), and other important supply chain partners to upgrade the eLMIS. JSH’s eSCMIS project began with setup and transition, system assessments, technical support, and modifications to the Electronic Logistics Management Information System (eLMIS). Despite COVID-19 constraints, the project was able to adapt and achieve several of its FY2020 goals. As part of this effort, 151 eLMIS Facility Edition (FE) sites were upgraded from version 3.8 to 4.1.0, key strategies in the eLMIS Sustainability and Transition Plan were implemented, and strategic partnerships with implementing partners were strengthened.

The USAID Zambia Accessible Markets for Health (ZAM-Health) Activity is a five-year project that aims to sustainably expand access to high-quality health products and services, improve health knowledge, and increase the adoption of healthy and health-seeking behaviors through the private sector. This 2-page leaflet provides an overview of the project objectives and intervention areas.

The five-year USAID eSCMIS project builds on the success of the present electronic logistics management information system (eLMIS) in Zambia. Despite a late start due to COVID-19 limitations, the project made great progress in the implementation of operations in FY21. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MOH), the project began the deployment of eLMIS FE to new health facilities in all 10 provinces, with advanced planning in equipment purchase and site selection. By the end of FY21, eLMIS FE was in 1,102 hospitals. MOH deployed 35% of 433 deployments, with the rest being a partnership between project staff, MOH champions, and MOH super-users. The project has accomplished 90 of the 243 user stories (software enhancements) intended for the project’s duration. The project has also improved the capabilities of provincial and district MOH personnel to maintain the system through mentorship during system updates, deployments, and technical support.

The five-year USAID eSCMIS project builds on the success of the present electronic logistics management information system (eLMIS) in Zambia. This report covers October 1 2021–September 30, 2022, Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 / Project Year (PY) 3, during which the country’s eLMIS deployment digitized the health supply chain, enabling health care workers to deliver standardized services and use data to inform decisions. The project made significant progress in ensuring that the eLMIS is available across the country, with a total of 1,452 facilities using the eLMIS FE by the end of FY22. In PY 3, the USAID eSCMIS project deployed the eLMIS FE to 351 new health facilities across 10 provinces and 32 districts (more than 100 percent of the 350 targeted). The MOH deployed 106 (30 percent) of these facilities independently. The project achieved an 81 percent life-of-project completion rate for enhancements and continued to train new medical staff entering the health system in the functionality of the eLMIS operating systems. Further, the project worked closely with the MOH to update the Sustainability and Transition Plan.

This report provides an overview of the fourth-year activities (October 2022–September 2023) carried out by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Electronic Supply Chain Management Information System (eSCMIS) project. Over this period, the project focused on digitizing Zambia’s healthcare supply chain, aiming to extend its impact to communities, healthcare personnel, public and private facilities, and public health administrative units. Collaborating with the MOH, the project surpassed its FY23 goal by deploying the Electronic Logistics Management Information System (eLMIS) to 181 healthcare facilities, achieving 109% of its target, with the MOH playing a pivotal role in 94.5% of deployments. Since FY2020, 966 eLMIS Facility Edition (FE) deployments and training for 5,100 MOH staff have been completed. The project addressed challenges, conducted a mid-term review, and focused on integrating eLMIS with SmartCare+ and ZAMMSA’s WHXpert system (the warehouse management system). Efforts were made to transition eLMIS leadership to the MOH, achieving 50% facility coverage and engaging key stakeholders, including presenting at the Zambia Medical Doctors Conference to promote proper system utilization at all government levels.

The project is making significant gains to meet its three goals: 1) implement the next-generation eLMIS; 2) enable GRZ to make data-driven supply chain decisions independently; and 3) transfer eLMIS to GRZ to own its data and reporting systems.