The Prime Vendor system is a component of a broader initiative known as the Health Promotion and System Strengthening (HPSS) or Tuimarishe Afya Project, which is part of the development cooperation between Tanzania and Switzerland. The HPSS project has been launched in 2011 and supports Dodoma Region in the fields of health insurance, community health promotion, pharmaceutical management and management of maintenance and repair services for a period of 10 years. The project is funded by the Embassy of Switzerland in Tanzania and is implemented by the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), and her partner organization the Micro Insurance Academy (MIA), Germany, in cooperation with the Ifakara Health Institute, Tanzania.
Medicines are crucial for the functioning of health care delivery. Shortage of medicines is a recurrent challenge and is hampering quality of services and care in health facilities. Public health facilities in Dodoma region are supplied by Medical Stores Department (MSD), a governmental organization that makes enormous efforts to provide medicines to the population. The supply chain, however, is a complex and complicated system with a variety of stakeholders involved and a number of challenges where MSD faces obstacles in supplying sufficient quantities of medicines. Health facilities and districts have funds available that are earmarked for the purchase of supplementary medicines. So far, purchase of supplementary medicines has, however, been very fragmented and uncoordinated.
In order to improve availability of medicines, the seven districts of Dodoma, together with regional authorities and with support of the HPSS project have decided to tackle the problem of out of stocks of medicines in a Public-Private-Partnership approach. A private company has been identified through a tender process and will act as Prime Vendor: orders from all health facilities of every district in Dodoma region are pooled and purchased from one single supplier, the prime vendor. These medicines will be paid from regular sources of complementary funds available such as Community Health Funds, National Health Insurance Funds, user fees and basket funds.
After a lengthy and transparent prequalification and procurement process conducted by the regional authorities, a supplier has been selected based on Good Procurement Practice. The selected Prime Vendor, Bahari Ltd and the regional authorities of Dodoma have signed a contract of cooperation today. This is the starting point for the implementation of a system that will hopefully fill the gap in medicines availability, in collaboration and partnership with MSD as the main supplier of medicines to public health facilities.
Signing of the contract with the selected Prime Vendor will not be the end of the story. A comprehensive but user friendly handbook with Standard Operating Procedures for health facilities and districts has been developed to make the Prime Vendor system operational. All actors will be called upon to adhere to the operational principles and purchase supplementary medicines from their regional Prime Vendor. Next to reducing stock outs of medicines, good clinical practice including correct prescribing und use of medicines based on the national Standard Treatment Guidelines will be a prerequisite for better health outcomes. Providing more medicines in the supply system may increase the opportunity for leakage and misappropriation. Therefore regular and supportive supervision and auditing will be conducted.
Contact:
 
Prof. M. Meshack        
Team Leader HPSS Project
P.O.Box 29, Tanesco Building
Jamatini Area, Dodoma
Tel +255 26 2323 084

Jacqueline MATORO
National Programme Advisor for Health
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
Embassy of Switzerland in Tanzania
Phone: +255 22 266 62 20
Mobile: +255 754 62 90 49
 
Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH):
http://www.swisstph.ch/Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC):
http://www.swiss-cooperation.admin.ch/tanzania/
Micro Insurance Academy: http://www.microinsuranceacademy.org/
Ifakara Health Institute: http://www.ihi.or.tz/