Abt Boosts Contraception Access in Mozambique
In Mozambique, Abt Associates has been improving domestic supply chain systems by analyzing, correcting, and using data to pinpoint and address bottlenecks. Under the USAID-funded and Pathfinder-led Integrated Family Planning Program, Abt helped 260 health facilities in the provinces of Nampula and Sofala eliminate stock outs of family planning (FP) commodities. One major challenge was that there are multiple sources of data at the facility, district, and provincial level – both electronic and paper-based – that are difficult and time-consuming to reconcile. This often results in the over reporting of stock outs and mismanagement of stocks. Over the past five years, Abt has worked with facility, district, and provincial staff to improve FP stock management by:
- Helping district and provincial medications depots improve data for contraceptive requisitions and ensure timely allocation of stock from the Central Medications Depot
- Co-facilitating district and provincial task force meetings where members ensure that contraceptive quantification and orders align with consumption data. At the meetings, the tasks forces correct discrepancies between district and facility data on contraceptives received, offered to clients, and reported monthly in electronic systems. Abt introduced a monthly analytical form for routine in-depth assessment of data discrepancies.
- Conducting on-the-job-training and routine technical assistance (TA) visits to ensure timely and accurate contraceptive orders and updating of paper-based and electronic stock cards
- Improving use of the national electronic supply chain management information system through training, TA, and expansion of the system to additional sites
- Helping 36 districts develop commodity distribution maps to improve distribution efficiency
- Supporting the redistribution of contraceptives stocks among facilities to minimize shortages as part of routine contraceptive stock monitoring
As a result of these efforts, the percentage of supported facilities reporting contraceptive stock outs steadily decreased over the past four years, from 12% at the end of 2016 to zero during the July-September quarter of 2020. The facilities maintained this performance through the end of the project in March 2021. Improved contraceptive availability was one of many contributors to the steady increase in couple-years protection Abt, Pathfinder, and other partners achieved over five years: from 28,410 to 165,000 in Nampula and from 27,000 to 135,000 in Sofala.
Learn more about the Mozambique Integrated Family Planning Program.
