MTaPS' Support
To support the achievement of targets set out in the country’s National Objectives for Health (2017–2022), the Sustainable Development Goals 2030, and the Universal Health Coverage law, MTaPS' technical assistance to the Department of Health (DOH) is directed toward:
- Establishing an integrated and effective health supply chain management system
- Instituting a fully functional pharmacovigilance (PV) system
- Improving pharmaceutical services
The overall goal is to strengthen and institutionalize systems to secure sustainable access to safe, effective, quality-assured, and affordable TB, family planning, and other essential health commodities; safeguard patients from harm; and promote rational medicine use.
MTaPS focuses on the following technical areas:
MTaPS in the Philippines employs a system strengthening approach and provides capacity building support with a focus on the following priority areas:
Strategies, stewardship, and coordination
MTaPS is assisting the DOH to develop national strategies that set out the vision and improvement considerations for procurement and supply chain management (PSCM) and PV. The program will also help establish the governance, stewardship, and coordination mechanisms at the central and regional levels needed to lead, implement, and sustain reforms.
Workforce development
Important activities include working with the DOH to:
- Conduct workforce assessments for forming workforce development plans
- Forge institutional arrangements and partnerships for training and certification (e.g., between local and international pharmacy schools for PV)
- Build institutional capacity in critical work units to facilitate new approaches, such as procurement frameworks
Information management
MTaPS is supporting the DOH to procure and deploy an end-to-end, integrated, and inter-operable electronic logistics management information system.
Private-sector capacity
As part of efforts to increase PSCM efficiency, MTaPS is assisting the DOH in leveraging private-sector capacity. Activities include a private-sector capacity assessment and a cost-benefit analysis to inform decisions on outsourcing some PSCM functions.
PSCM and PV services
MTaPS is supporting the DOH to conduct an analysis of pharmaceutical services, including for PSCM and PV, and to design and implement interventions that address key bottlenecks. Areas of focus include:
- Mechanisms for registering public health products (e.g., vaccines, antiretrovirals, TB medicines, family planning products)
- Evidence-based quantification of commodity needs
- Alternative procurement approaches (e.g., framework contract, pooled procurement, international procurement) to address procurement weaknesses
- Improving warehousing use of space and efficiency
- Informed distribution of commodities to health facilities to diminish stock imbalances at service delivery points
- Proper storage and rational use of commodities
