Abstract:

This case traces the development of a series of initiatives to intended to reduce stockouts of family planning commodities in Senegal’s public health system and the eventual scale up of the redesigned supply chain to include additional commodities and its transfer of management to the government. After providing some background on the history of Senegal, including its governance and health system, the case explores early efforts to overhaul the supply chain in the country and reproductive health efforts. It then describes the Gates Foundation’s involvement and how the relationship between family planning and supply chain management came to light. The Gates Foundation, along with others, supported the launch of the Informed Push Model with Third Party Logisticians (IPM-3PL), which proved to reduce stockouts dramatically. Despite significant initial support from both government ministries and international donor agencies, as the program scaled IPM-3PL did not survive the transition to a fully government-run model, and the program was eventually discontinued in 2019 after two attempts to hand over the program to Senegal’s National Supply Pharmacy (Pharmacie Nationale d'Approvisionnement; PNA), the government agency in charge of distribution of medicines. The case ends with the director of the PNA contemplating what was next for Senegal and what she could tell others who had been so closely watching the country as an example.

Keywords: supply chain management, private-public partnership, maternal health, third party logisticians, informed push model, scale up, distribution