Health supply Chain management workforce in Nepal

Dhulikhel : Department of Community Programs, Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences had conducted the first course on Health Supply Chain Management in collaboration with GTA, a national nonprofit organization in the provision of technical support.

This course has the due endorsement and support from the Ministry of Health and Population, Nepal, as the efforts are in line with the MoHP goal of developing the health supply chain workforce in Nepal.

With the inspirational and guiding remarks from Dr Dipendra Raman Singh, Director-General of Department of Health Services and wishes from Dr Krishna P. Paudel, Director of Epidemiology and Disease Control Division, the course was started on 19^th November 2021. Dr Biraj Karmacharya, Director, Department of Community Programs; and Deepak C. Bajracharya, Executive Director of G.T.A. Foundation welcomed and congratulate all the participants who came from in-services (Province Health Logistics Management Centers & Health Offices) and masters level students (MSc PH/Msc Nursing). Shyam Lama, Course Director having expertise and decades of global experience in health supply chain management carried out the ToT orientation to the facilitators and designed the course. He also welcomed and briefed about the courses and their essence to the participants. He has shared his international experiences during the course for managing the health supply chain in resource constraints settings.   

Through various key modules, fundamentals of health supply chain management were introduced in the course with a reference in the context of Nepal and global. A fieldwork component is part of the course for the students/participants to understand the existing realities and challenges and the role that a supply chain plays in a health program.

The 5-day course with the participation from pre-service and in-service, encouraging interactions, with lecturettes, group work, discussions, and opportunities to hear from the experts and those managing the systems. The course is successfully completed with a comprehensive understanding among participants enabling them an opportunity to play a meaningful role in the health supply chain management in a health program. The course was conducted in Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences, Dhulikhel, Kavre.