Article Text
Abstract
A well-functioning supply chain is a critical component of the health system to ensure high-quality medicines and health products are available when and where they are needed. However, because supply chains are complex systems, strong, competent leaders are needed to drive continuous improvement efforts. This paper documents the learnings from a supply chain leadership intervention in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which aimed to build leadership capacity in a cross-tier group of central/provincial/district-level leaders. The intervention, called the Leadership in Supply Chain Initiative, used an experiential learning curriculum to train 19 ‘champions’ in Equateur Province, DRC. Based on self-assessments and key informant interviews, participants reported that the intervention increased their ability to lead change in the supply chain. In particular, participants and stakeholders noted that empowering district managers as leaders in the supply chain was important to improve supply chain performance, since they oversee service delivery points and are responsible for operationalising changes in the supply chain. Moreover, this intervention adds to evidence that leadership capacity is most effectively gained through experiential learning coupled with mentorship and coaching. Additional research is needed to determine the optimal duration of leadership building interventions and to better understand how supply chain leaders can be supported and mentored within the public health system.
- immunisation
- public health
- health systems
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Footnotes
Handling editor Seye Abimbola
Contributors NP-W conceptualised the paper, assisted with data collection and analysis, was the principal author and managed all revisions of drafts of the paper. EM designed and led the intervention, led data collection and analysis, and reviewed the paper for intellectual content. FN assisted with the intervention, data collection and analysis, and reviewed the paper for intellectual content. JC, BPM and EL-C provided guidance on the intellectual content and contributed to the review and writing drafts of the paper. FB co-led the intervention and reviewed the paper for intellectual content.
Funding This work was carried out with funding from the Government of Democratic Republic of Congo through the Ministry of Health, Projet de Développement du Systeme de Santé (with funding from the World Bank). The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation also provided funding.
Competing interests None declared.
Patient consent for publication Not required.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
Data availability statement No additional data are available.