The Ministry of Health has initiated a new project dubbed Data Production Management and Use (DPMU).

The project is being executed with financial support from the Global Fund and technical assistance from Systems for Development (S4D).

The project is aimed at evaluating the end-to-end public health supply chain, identifying the key data sources, ensuring that people, processes and tools that facilitate the harnessing and management of data for each business process meet the minimum standards.

Also, the project will help develop supporting mechanisms that will not only view data as a business asset, but effectively use it in all decision making and performance monitoring. 

The Ministry's Research and Information Management Directorate will champion this task to achieve the objectives.

However, S4D will leverage its technical capabilities and resources to develop the public health supply chain data architecture which has been classified into three key areas: data management, data integration and data analytics, to assist the Ministry.

It is anticipated that the fostering of such enabling supply chain environment will lead Ghana towards the attainment of health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including universal health coverage (UHC). 

The impact of the project have been categorised under three parts. They are cost savings, operational efficiencies and insights.

Cost Savings

Under this, the data will guide the implementation of strategic supply chain financial methods and decisions, creating opportunities to achieve supply chain cost effectiveness.

Accurate and timely inventory data will inform budgeting, procurement, inventory management, and distribution processes while enabling effective target of supply chain investments, reduce waste, and ultimately better serve the patient needs.

Operational Efficiencies

With is, the data visibility combined with strong data management will help reduce operational costs and improve service levels by optimizing processes such as procurement planning, demand forecasting, and inventory management.

Insights

Also, the availability of quality data will build an agile supply chain, enabling better informed value-based decisions and proactive risk management efforts.

Leveraging data visibility and analytics tools such as probabilistic and predictive modelling will facilitate establishment of mechanisms for supply chain risk management methods such as scenario building, what-If and risk/reward analysis.