Strengthening Nigerian Health Systems: AIDSRelief’s contribution
and equipment purchases, and helped prevent theft and fraud by putting security measures in place. In integrated pharmacies, this helps improve quality and availability of medicines for all patients and strengthens facility-wide access to essential medicines. Staff who previously estimated all of their commodity needs developed skills in forecasting and drug quantification under AIDSRelief, helping to ensure commodity security. Health facilities now use electronic templates in Microsoft Access and Excel which have been designed specifically to capture patient information including commodity records. Additionally, accurate records and easy access to those records has helped providers spot adherence issues among individual patients, prevent dispensing errors, and even detect and correct prescription errors. When asked about sustainability, former senior pharmacist and current program coordinator at St.Vincent’s Hospital, Amara Nzeako says “The supply chain management system will continue to function because it is the only system that ensures continued availability of health commodities. It has been so effective and this has led to an improved quality of care and service.”
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