Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for Ethiopian Pharmaceuticals Supply Agency (EPSA)

Abstract

The EPSA has been determined to meet the increasing pharmaceuticals demand in the country since its establishment in 2007. The agency has been expanding hubs, warehouse infrastructure, increasing procurement volume, integrating the supply management of pharmaceuticals that were previously managed vertically, enhancing direct delivery to health facilities and deploying automated health commodities management system (HCMIS) in all its hubs and in most of the high-volume health facilities. Despite the significant achievements in the last ten years, there are challenge that needs to be addressed to realize a highly responsive and seamless pharmaceutical supply chain able to meet the growing for pharmaceuticals demand. Assessments conducted at different levels of the supply chain and by different organizations identified interrupted supplies, delayed installation of medical equipment, wastage, and inefficiencies as major problems across the entire supply chain. In effect, there is high dissatisfaction of health providers, patients, and the community at large. To address these challenges, transforming the agency has been acritical concern of the health sector.