Vimal Kumar, principal consultant in the Oxford Policy Management Health team, discusses the importance of procurement and supply chain management in supporting effective policy reforms.

Ensuring availability, affordability, and quality of commodities (for example medicines) to provide services to the patients is one of the key outcomes which procurement and supply chain management establishes.

This is especially important in low- and middle-income countries, where poor populations often experience out-of-pocket payments and financial hardship for accessing healthcare.

Improving efficiency and effectiveness of procurement and supply chain management systems can help ensure sustainable availability of quality and affordable health commodities for the vulnerable communities.

In December 2018, Vimal Kumar, an expert in health procurement and supply chain management, led a technical seminar around health supply chain management where he talked about his experience in the field.

Developing a sustainable pro-poor health commodity supply is an integral part of developing high-quality and affordable healthcare services for all, which is an important goal for the Health team at Oxford Policy Management.

Helping to strengthen the procurement and supply chain management components, the team’s work in the field included the monitoring, learning, and evaluation of the Bihar Technical Support Programme (BTSP), which focused on improving reproductive, maternal, and child health and nutrition in Bihar, India, in addition to work for HEART.