Background
Logistics and Supply unit is one of the important units of the Directorate
General of Family Planning engaged in procurement, storage and supply
management.
Objective :
The objective of procurement, storage and supply management is to
ensure adequate supplies on time to the service delivery points
so that the users and potential clients with a focus on HNPSP’s
target groups can have easy access according to their needs. To
meet this objective, a buffer of critical supplies for a minimum
18 months will be built-up for any given point of time at every
stage.
International Procurement Cell :
With a view to be self-reliant for conducting procurement activities
as well as to save huge amount of service charges for conducting
those through UN agencies, a procurement cell was established under
Family Planning Service Delivery Project (4th phase: 1985-1991).
In the next phase (1991-95) the cell was further strengthened through
creating additional posts, as well as recruiting manpower thereof.
Now the cell is functioning fully as an integral part of the Logistics
and Supply Unit.
Forecasting:
To have accurate forecasting of contraceptives, MOH&FW
and DGFP/Logistics and Supply Unit prepared two projection documents
through individual professionals. The first was prepared for the period
1998-2003 and another for the period 2000-2015. Both the documents
were reviewed, approved and published by the MOH&FW based on which
requirements for HNPSP (2003-2006) has been worked out taking into
account present stock and pipeline. These are the baseline for assessing
the future needs. The documents are being reviewed, time to time,
by the forecasting forum/logistics coordination forum under the chairmanship
of the Director General to facilitate preparing of procurement plans.
Procurement:
Directorate General of Family Planning has been procuring
contraceptives directly through the mechanism of the Logistics &
Supply Unit on the basis of need assessed from the Line Directors,
ESP-RH, CCSDP and FPFSDP. On the basis of the need assessment, Logistics
and Supply Unit prepares procurement plan and processing schedule
for the contraceptives and MSRs following the IDA procurement procedures.
After that, most of the contraceptives (condom, oral pill, injectable,
IUD, MR kit and implant) are being procured by the International Procurement
Cell of the Logistics & Supply Unit.
Besides, UNFPA is procuring contraceptives for DGFP using CIDA, DFID
and UNFPA’s own fund under bilateral grant agreements. Moreover,
KfW engages consultants on behalf of MOH&FW, to carry out procurement
of contraceptives under German grant.
Warehousing, Supply and Distribution:
The present RH:FP-MCH storage system consists of 1 Central Warehouse
in Dhaka, 3 big Regional Warehouses in Chittagong, Khulna and Rajshahi
and 18 newly upgraded Regional Warehouses (the formerly DRSs). The
Central Warehouse, Chittagong Regional Warehouse and Khulna Regional
Warehouse are the offshore and local consignment recipient warehouses,
as well as the distributors. All other warehouses and stores are distributors
for their respective catchment areas. They include 467 Upazila stores,
of them, 210 stores are separately constructed (USAID funded), 46
are constructed in thana health complexes. The rest 211 are on rent
or substitute use of office rooms as the stores.
A commodity flow chart of the warehousing and distribution system
is given below:
Central
Warehouse (1)
Regional Warehouses (3+18)
Thana Stores (467)
Field/FWA/FWV/NGO
Contraceptive
security:
MOH&FW has formulated a strategy paper to achieve contraceptive
security. The Logistics and Supply Unit of the Directorate General
of Family Planning is playing the most vital role to achieve contraceptive
security under the directions from MOH&FW. Twenty strategies suggested
by the experts and approved by the Govt. are being implemented in
three major areas: a) method mix and reinvigorating long term methods;
b) marketing segmentation and the role of social marketing and private
sector; and c) procurement and rationalization of supply chain.
