KNSG moves to merge KSCHMA DRF, Facility DRF
In its move to strengthen and streamline the Drugs Revolving Fund (DRF) operations in the state, the Kano State Government, through the State Sustainable Health Commodities Supply System (SHCSS) Committee, has organized a two day stakeholders engagement workshop to develop modalities to integrate Kano State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (KSCHMA) DRF and Facility DRF.
This was contained in a press statement issued to newsmen on Thursday by Ibrahim Abdullahi, Information Officer, Ministry of Health.
Participants of the workshop were drawn from the Ministry of Health and its Agencies, including the Director General Drugs and Medical Consumables Supply Agency (DMCSA), Director General Private Health Institutions Management Agency (PHIMA), Executive Secretary Kano State Contributory Health Care Management Agency (KSCHMA), Executive Secretary Hospitals Management Board and their relevant directors.
The objectives of the workshop is to sensitize the participants to understand the concept of the sustainable health commodities supply system in Kano state, to leverage on DRF for uninterrupted supply of health commodities to the KSCHMA clients, to understand the linkage between DRF and other programmes and service units within the facilities and to understand the benefit of integrating DRF with other programmes such as KSCHMA, NHIS, BHCPF, etc that also supply drugs.
After presentations, discussions and experience sharing, participants had observed that there is weak monitoring and supervision across the systems for both DRF, and KSCHMA and there is also frequents stock out of drugs at the facilities resulting to KSCHMA clients not able to get what were prescribed for them.
They also observed that the DMCSA is bedeviled with the challenge of funding and its available infrastructure is inadequate and requires improvement besides the needs for the DMCSA to secure additional recapitalization and improve capacity of its personnel.
They also observed that some facilities, particularly primary health centres, require immediate capitalization preparatory to be enrolled into the programme and there is high level of purchase of commodities from outside the DMCSA by the facilities.
At the end of the workshop, the participants agreed with the concept of integrating KSCHMA DRF with facility DRF and the development of a strategy for the integration, which will include procurement, warehousing, and internal control.
They also agreed for the involvement of the private facilities in procurement of drugs and medical consumables at the DMCSA as well as reorienting all relevant stakeholders on the new strategy for the integration for the smooth implementation for supervisors, managers and operators at facilities level in phases.
Moreover, they agreed that there should be rewards for the result-oriented staff, while erring personnel should be sanctioned and institutionalized at all levels in addition to the entrenchment of appropriate linkages between the DMCSA and sister Agencies within the health sector.
More so, they agreed for establishing a taskforce that will ensure compliance to the established strategy; enrolment of facilities into the strategy should be in phases, starting with some selected facilities as pilot; a very close monitoring and supervision of the pilot facilities should be carried out to determine the success or otherwise of the integration and at no point should purchases be made outside the DMCSA.
The workshop was very engaging and participants contributed richly to the development of the selection of a strategy for the integration of KSCHMA DRF into facility DRF, with great support from KSCHMA and DMCSA.
The practical lessons garnered during the exercise were due to the willingness, openness & magnanimity of the participants, and the unparallel enriching gesture would no doubt go a long way in ensuring that the State sets up and runs robust, sustainable and efficient programmes for the attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
