government of sierra leone directorate of policy, planning ......1 health information bulletin...

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1 Health Information Bulletin Volume 7, Issue 2 January-June 2020 August 2020 Government of Sierra Leone Directorate of Policy, Planning and Information (DPPI), Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MOHS) The Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) provides health care services through a network of over 1,300 health facilities nationwide. The MoHS also has established a Health Management Infor- mation System (HMIS), part of which collects data from these health facilities using specially designed summary forms . Contents: Introduction - P1 Data completeness and timeliness - P2 Malaria - P3 Child Health - P4 Nutrition - P5 Reproductive Health - P6 Family Planning - P7 Maternal Deaths - P7 Tuberculosis - P8 HIV/AIDS - P8 Non Communicable Diseases - P8 Deaths - P9 Hospitals - P10 Drugs - P11 Health Financing - P11 Human Interest story - P12

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Page 1: Government of Sierra Leone Directorate of Policy, Planning ......1 Health Information Bulletin Volume 7, Issue 2 January-June 2020 August 2020 Government of Sierra Leone Directorate

1

Health Information Bulletin

Volume 7, Issue 2 January-June 2020 August 2020

Government of Sierra Leone Directorate of Policy, Planning and Information (DPPI),

Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MOHS)

The Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) provides health care services through a network of over 1,300 health facilities nationwide.

The MoHS also has established a Health Management Infor-mation System (HMIS), part of which collects data from these

health facilities using specially designed summary forms .

Contents:

Introduction - P1

Data completeness and timeliness - P2

Malaria - P3

Child Health - P4

Nutrition - P5

Reproductive Health - P6

Family Planning - P7

Maternal Deaths - P7

Tuberculosis - P8

HIV/AIDS - P8

Non Communicable Diseases - P8

Deaths - P9

Hospitals - P10

Drugs - P11

Health Financing - P11

Human Interest story - P12

Page 2: Government of Sierra Leone Directorate of Policy, Planning ......1 Health Information Bulletin Volume 7, Issue 2 January-June 2020 August 2020 Government of Sierra Leone Directorate

2

Data Completeness

PHU Data Completeness: % of PHUs

with complete report (HF1-HF3) en-

tered into the DHIS2 for a specific

period of time (usually one month).

The Average PHU data completeness

is 97%, for the first quarter and 98%

for the second quarter of 2020.

Koinadugu district achieved below

the national target in both quarters:

78% in each quarter.

Western Area Rural district achieved

below the target (87%) in the first

quarter but hit the target in the sec-

ond quarter of 2020

Hospital Data Completeness: % of

districts with complete hospital

report (HF1-HF2) entered into the

DHIS2 for a specific period of time

(usually one month)

Overall, seven out of the 16 districts

achieved the national data com-

pleteness target of 90%

The overall completeness of hospital

data is generally low with 61% in the

first quarter and 52% in the second

quarter of 2020, respectively

RRIV Data Completeness: This chart

looks at percentage of PHUs with

complete RRIV report (RRIV for es-

sential drugs and malaria) entered

into the DHIS2 for the period

January - June 2020

The Average RRIV data complete-

ness for these datasets is around

84%, with Moyamba District scoring

the lowest, followed by Western

Urban and Western Rural Districts

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

Pe

rce

nta

ge

PHUs data completeness by district, January - June 2020

Completeness Jan to Mar 2020 Completeness Apr to Jun 2020

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

100.0

Perc

enta

ge

RRIV PHUs data completeness by district, January - June 2020

RRIV_chc_Essential Medicine - Jan to Jun 2020 RRIV_chc_Malaria - Jan to Jun 2020

RRIV_mchp_chp_Essential Medicines - Jan to Jun 2020 RRIV_mchp_chp_Malaria - Jan to Jun 2020

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

Pe

rce

nta

ge

Hospital data completeness by district, January - June 2020

Completeness Jan to Mar 2020 Completeness Apr to Jun 2020

Page 3: Government of Sierra Leone Directorate of Policy, Planning ......1 Health Information Bulletin Volume 7, Issue 2 January-June 2020 August 2020 Government of Sierra Leone Directorate

3

Malaria

Among children with confirmed ma-

laria at PHUs, an average of 68%

were treated with ACT within 24

hours of onset of fever in the first

quarter of 2020, whilst 67% were

treated in the second quarter

There are huge variations in early

treatment of malaria with ACT

among districts.

Kono achieved the highest coverage

(95% on average), whilst Kambia

and Port Loko achieved the lowest

coverage, 49% each

A total of 123,636 LLINs were dis-

tributed in Q1 compared to 112,512

in Q2 during routine service deliv-

ery.

More LLINs were distributed in Q1

compared to Q2.

Antenatal client IPTp 3rd Dose: %

of pregnant women who received

3rd dose of IPTp during antenatal

visit. Thus, ANC1 is used as the de-

nominator for this indicator

There is a slight national decrease in

the IPTp coverage from 62% in the

first quarter to 60% in the second

quarter of 2020 . There is also a wid-

er variation of coverage among dis-

tricts in quarter two.

Pujehun district recorded an expo-

nentially high coverage (129%) of

IPTp in the second quarter of 2020

0

1,0002,0003,000

4,0005,000

6,0007,000

8,0009,000

10,00011,000

12,00013,000

Num

ber

Routine bednet distributed in by district, January - June 2020

Routine LLITN Jan-Mar 2020 Routine LLITN Apr-Jun 2020

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

140%

Perc

enta

ge

IPTp coverage by district, January - June 2020

Antenatal client IPT 3rd dose Jan-Mar 2020 Antenatal client IPT 3rd dose Apr-Jun 2020

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Pe

rce

nta

ge

Malaria treated with ACT within 24 hours by district, January - June 2020

Malaria treated with ACT under 24 hours Jan-Mar 2020 Malaria treated with ACT under 24 hours Apr-Jun 2020

Page 4: Government of Sierra Leone Directorate of Policy, Planning ......1 Health Information Bulletin Volume 7, Issue 2 January-June 2020 August 2020 Government of Sierra Leone Directorate

4

Child Health

The overall coverage of BCG among

under one children is around 68%

for the first and second quarter of

2020. This is way below the 95%

target set by the Ministry of Health

and Sanitation.

Moyamba is the only district that

achieved above the national target,

whilst Bo and Pujehun district are

closest to achieving the target.

BCG comes in multi-dose vial, and

the criteria delineated for the use

of BCG in the open vial policy could

be a reason for it low coverage.

The coverage of Fully Immunized

Child between the age of 0—11

month greatly decreased in the sec-

ond quarter compared to the first

quarter in 2020

A total of 58,008 (78,9%) children

were fully immunized by age 11

months in the first quarter, whilst

53,362 (71,9%) were immunized in

the second quarter of 2020.

Seven out of sixteen districts

achieved the national target (95%)

in the first quarter, whilst three dis-

tricts achieved the national target in

the second quarter

The average Penta 1-3 dropout rate

was 1.0% in Q1 compared to 5.7% in

Q2.

Penta 1-3 dropout rate was highest

for Western Rural (16%), followed

by Kono (10%), Kambia (10%) and

Tonkolili (9%) districts.

Bombali, Kailahun, Kenema, Puje-

hun and Western Urban districts

recorded negative dropout rates,

indicating that more children were

vaccinated for Penta 3 than Penta

1.

-10.0%

-5.0%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

Perc

enta

ge

Pentavalent 1-3 dropout rate by district, January - June 2020

Pentavalent dropout rate Jan-Mar2020 Pentavalent dropout rate Apr-Jun2020

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

100.0%

110.0%

Perc

enta

ge

BCG coverage for children 0-11 month by district, January - June 2020

BCG dose 0 - 11m Jan-Mar2020 BCG dose 0 - 11m Apr-Jun2020

0.0%10.0%20.0%30.0%40.0%50.0%60.0%70.0%80.0%90.0%

100.0%110.0%120.0%

Perc

enta

ge

Fully immunized child 0-11 months by district, January - June 2020

Fully immunised child 0 - 11m Jan-Mar2020 Fully immunised child 0 - 11m Apr-Jun2020

National target

Page 5: Government of Sierra Leone Directorate of Policy, Planning ......1 Health Information Bulletin Volume 7, Issue 2 January-June 2020 August 2020 Government of Sierra Leone Directorate

5

Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM):

The percentage of severe acute mal-

nutrition is higher in the second

quarter compared to the first quar-

ter of 2020

A total of 17,082 (3.2%) children

weighed were diagnosed with SAM

in quarter one of 2020, whilst 18,256

(3.4%) children were diagnosed with

SAM in quarter two

The prevalence of SAM affects dis-

tricts disproportionately with Falaba

being the worst affected (6.8%) in

the first quarter, and Bonthe with

8.0% in the second quarter of 2020

Infants who were breastfed within

one hour of delivery among all live

births is around 80% for both first

and second quarters 2020

There are disproportionally wide

variances of early initiation of

breastfeeding among districts.

Kailahun District recorded the high-

est coverage whilst Falaba District

recorded the lowest

The number of vitamin A supple-

ment given to children between the

ages of 12-59 month is higher in the

first quarter compared to the second

quarter of 2020 in almost all the

districts except for Kono and

Kenema.

The exponential increase in the vita-

min A supplementation in the sec-

ond quarter in Kono District was

linked to increment in the number of

outreach activities conducted in May

and June 2020.

.

Nutrition

0.0%

1.0%

2.0%

3.0%

4.0%

5.0%

6.0%

7.0%

8.0%

9.0%

Perc

enta

ge

Severe Acute Malnutrition cases by district, January - June 2020

Severe malnutrition Jan to Mar 2020 Severe malnutrition Apr to Jun 2020

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

120.0%

Pe

rce

nta

ge

Infant breastfed within 1 hour of birth by district, January - June 2020

Infant breastfed within 1 hour of birth Jan to Mar 2020 Infant breastfed within 1 hour of birth Apr to Jun 2020

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

Num

ber

Vitamin A supplement child 12-59 months by district, January - June 2020

Vitamin A supplement child 12-59 months Jan to Mar 2020

Vitamin A supplement child 12-59 months Apr to Jun 2020

Page 6: Government of Sierra Leone Directorate of Policy, Planning ......1 Health Information Bulletin Volume 7, Issue 2 January-June 2020 August 2020 Government of Sierra Leone Directorate

6

There is a reduction in the number

of reproductive health services as-

sessed for PHUs in Q2 compared to

Q1, 2020

Huge number of pregnant women

drop out of antennal services be-

tween ANC1 and ANC4

The chart also reveals that, health

care workers do not conduct first

postnatal services for all neonates

delivered at their health facility

Overall 348 and 339 fresh still births

were reported in Q1 and Q2 respec-

tive

Kambia district reported the highest

number of fresh still births, followed

by Kenema, Bombali and Bo districts

Western Urban, Falaba and Karene

districts reported the lowest number

of fresh still births

Overall, 472 and 388 macerated still

births were reported in Q1 and Q2

respective

Kenema district reported the highest

number of macerated still birth, fol-

lowed by Port Loko, Bombali and Bo

district

Falaba, and Karene districts reported

the lowest number of macerated still

births

Reproductive Health

70,987

4734850379

46701

63,648

45,427

5080947022

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

1st ANC 4th ANC Facilitydelivery

First PNCNeonate

1st ANC 4th ANC Facilitydelivery

First PNCNeonate

Jan-Mar 2020 Apr-Jun 2020

Num

ber

Maternal continuum of care, first and second quarter 2020

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Num

ber

Fresh still birth by district, January - June 2020

Fresh still birth Jan-Mar 2020 Fresh still birth Apr-Jun 2020

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Num

ber

Macerated still birth by district, January - June 2020

Macerated still birth Jan-Mar 2020 Macerated still birth Apr-Jun 2020

Page 7: Government of Sierra Leone Directorate of Policy, Planning ......1 Health Information Bulletin Volume 7, Issue 2 January-June 2020 August 2020 Government of Sierra Leone Directorate

7

Uptake of key family planning ser-

vices dropped in Q2 compared to Q1

Depo injection is the most common-

ly used family planning method fol-

lowed by implant and oral contra-

ceptives

Use of spermicide is even lower than

use of IUD

Overall, 581 and 489 maternal

deaths were reported in Q1 and Q2

respectively

The authors acknowledge that most

community deaths are not reported

so the figures presented do not rep-

resent all maternal deaths that took

place during the reporting period

In recognition of this, the Ministry of

Health and Sanitation is intensifying

efforts to improve maternal death

reporting nationwide.

Generally, there are more cases of

maternal death in the first quarter

than the second quarter, 2020

Aside other complications, Ante-

partum hemorrhage (APH) account

for the highest number of maternal

deaths - 82 in Q1 and 92 in Q2

Toxaemia and UTI account for the

lowest number of cases, with one

case each, in the second quarter

Family Planning

Maternal Deaths

0 50 100 150 200

Other ComplicationsObstructed labour

Ante-partum hemorhage (APH)PIH (Pre-eclampsia)

AnaemiaPost-partum hemorhage (PPH)

HypertensionSTI

Malaria in 2nd or 3rd trimesterRetained Placenta

EclampsiaAbortion

HyperemesisMalaria in 1st trimester

Puerperal SepsisPost-partum sepsisEctopic Pregnancy

Ruptured UterusPID

HIV/TBUTI

Toxaemia

Causes of maternal death by obstetric complications, January - June 2020

Q2 2020 Q1 2020

542

24,04225,932

18,356

201603

20,761

24,353

17,635

1970

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

IUD Implants Injectables Oral Contraceptivepills

Spermicide

Num

ber

New clients receiving family planning commodities in Sierra Leone, January - June 2020

Jan to Mar 2020 Apr to Jun 2020

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

120

130

Num

ber

Maternal death by district, January - June 2020

Jan to Mar 2020 Apr to Jun 2020

Page 8: Government of Sierra Leone Directorate of Policy, Planning ......1 Health Information Bulletin Volume 7, Issue 2 January-June 2020 August 2020 Government of Sierra Leone Directorate

8

Generally, there is an increment in

tuberculosis treatment outcome

among Bacteriologically confirmed

new and relapse cases in Q2 com-

pared to Q1, 2020

The number of cured cases in-

creased from 1,340 in Q1 to 1,448 in

Q2

The number of those who complet-

ed treatment also increased from

133 in Q1 to 146 in Q2

The number of death cases and

those who “lost to follow-up” re-

duced in Q2.

Number of pregnant women tested

for both HIV and Syphilis in Q1 were

54,358 and 52,234 respectively com-

pared to 41,962 and 40,295 in Q2.

This shows a drop in HIV and Syphilis

testing at health facilities from Q1

to Q2

Hypertension is the highest reported

Non-communicable disease followed

by cardiovascular diseases. Diabetes

and mental disorder

More cases of non communicable

diseases are reported for Q1 com-

pared to Q2 for all conditions but

Mental disorder

Non Communicable Disease Non communicable disease situation in Sierra Leone

Organization unit / Data

Jan to Mar 2020 Apr to Jun 2020

Diabetes case

Hyperten-sion case

Cardiovas-cular case

Mental disorder

case

Diabetes case

Hyperten-sion case

Cardiovas-cular case

Mental disorder

case

Bo 29 1056 24 10 20 1147 9 6

Bombali 28 778 205 2 32 774 4 8

Bonthe 7 284 1 1 3 505 5 0

Falaba 0 121 0 0 4 153 1 0

Kailahun 11 514 9 2 11 530 12 8

Kambia 13 908 16 0 7 745 0 0

Karene 29 547 9 0 3 436 7 5

Kenema 39 506 36 3 21 563 12 4

Koinadugu 5 187 1 3 7 160 3 0

Kono 24 633 14 33 22 550 20 70

Moyamba 10 298 10 5 5 301 1 6

Port Loko 17 137 47 0 14 80 12 0

Pujehun 8 553 6 1 11 471 15 9

Tonkolili 11 739 31 5 2 799 12 3

Western Rural 29 657 3 0 37 411 13 0

Western Urban 14 526 5 7 51 546 69 5

Sierra Leone

274

8,444

417

72

250

8,171

195

124

Tuberculosis

HIV/AIDS

1340

13350 59

1448

146

46 49

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

Cured Completed Lost to follow-up Died

Num

ber

Tuberculosis treatment outcome, January - June 2020

Jan to Mar 2020 Apr to Jun 2020

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

Jan to Mar 2020 Apr to Jun 2020 Jan to Mar 2020 Apr to Jun 2020

NACP-PMTCT - Tested for HIV female NACP-PMTCT - Women tested for syphilis

NU

MBE

R

Pregnant women tested for HIV and syphilis, January - June 2020

Page 9: Government of Sierra Leone Directorate of Policy, Planning ......1 Health Information Bulletin Volume 7, Issue 2 January-June 2020 August 2020 Government of Sierra Leone Directorate

9

A total of 878 infant deaths were

reported in Q1 compared to 958 in

Q2 of 2020

Bo District reported the highest

number of infant deaths (229) from

Jan to Jun 2020

Falaba District reported the lowest

number of infant deaths followed by

Karene, Koinadugu and Kono dis-

tricts

A total of 1,855 underfives deaths

were reported in Q1 compared to

2,315 in Q2

During the period Jan – Jun 2020,

Kambia District reported the highest

number of underfives deaths (518)

followed by Port Loko District (513)

and Bo District (472).

Falaba and Karene Districts reported

the lowest number underfives

deaths (46) followed by Koinadugu

District (72).

Overall a total of 5,352 deaths were

reported in Q1 compared to 7,168 in

Q2 – A 33% increase in reported

deaths.

During the period Jan - June 2020,

Port Loko district reported the high-

est number of deaths (1,540), fol-

lowed by Western Urban, Kambia,

Bo and Tonkolili districts.

The lowest number of deaths were

reported in Falaba and Koinadugu

districts.

Deaths

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Num

ber

Infant deaths by district, January - June 2020

Infant mortality Jan to Mar 2020 Infant mortality Apr to Jun 2020

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Nu

mb

er

Under five deaths by district, January - June 2020

Under five mortality Jan to Mar 2020 Under five mortality Apr to Jun 2020

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

Num

ber

Deaths (all ages) by district, January - June 2020

Mortality Jan to Mar 2020 Mortality Apr to Jun 2020

Page 10: Government of Sierra Leone Directorate of Policy, Planning ......1 Health Information Bulletin Volume 7, Issue 2 January-June 2020 August 2020 Government of Sierra Leone Directorate

10

Malaria is the leading cause of hospi-

tal out patient consultations in the

country. It accounts for about

23,555 consultations from January

to June 2020

The least among the top ten causes

of outpatient consultations is TB/

Leprosy, accounting for about 1,027

outpatient consultations in

hospitals between January to June

2020.

This graph depicts the top 10 causes

of hospital admissions from January

to June 2020.

Malaria is by far the most common

cause of Hospital admissions

with 11,638 admitted cases from

January to June 2020

This graph depicts the top 10 causes

of hospital inpatient mortality for

the period of January to June 2020.

Malaria is also the leading cause of

Hospital mortality; it account for 782

hospital deaths between January to

June 2020.

Hospitals

782

336

150

83

80

74

42

32

32

25

Malaria

Aneamia

ARI/RTI

Malnutrition

Hypertention

HIV/AIDS

TB/Leprosy

Diarrhoea Watery

Hepatitis

Acute Abdominal pain

Top ten causes of hospital inpatient mortality, January - June 2020

11,638

4,215

2,414

1,892

988

973

700

685

529

480

Malaria

Aneamia

ARI/RTI

Malnutrition

Hypertention

Hernia/Hydrocele

UTI/PID

Diarrhoea Watery

Trauma

TB/Leprosy

Top ten causes of hospital admission, January -June 2020

23555

12147

6840

3178

2402

1778

1738

1535

1379

1027

0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000

Malaria

Eye Conditions

ARI/RTI

UTI & PID

Hypertention

Worm Infestation

Trauma

Aneamia

Oral & Dental Conditions

TB/Leprosy

Top ten morbidities in outpatient consultations, January - June 2020

Page 11: Government of Sierra Leone Directorate of Policy, Planning ......1 Health Information Bulletin Volume 7, Issue 2 January-June 2020 August 2020 Government of Sierra Leone Directorate

11

This chart compares the quantity of

Rapid Diagnostic Test Kits dispensed

to the number of fever cases tested

for Malaria with RDT (Positive & Neg-

ative) at Hospital, PHU, and Commu-

nity from January to June 2020

Generally, more fever cases are test-

ed for malaria with RDT compared to

the quantity of RDT kits dispensed

However, Kambia, Kenema. Koina-

dugu, Pujehun, and Western Urban

test fewer cases compared to the

quantity of RDT kits they dispensed

This chart compares the quantity of

Depo-Provera dispensed to health

facilities to the quantity given to

both new and continuing clients

There are huge variations, in almost

all the districts, between the quanti-

ty of Depo-Provera dispensed to the

quantity received by new and con-

tinuing clients combined

Tonkolili and Kenema districts have

the highest differences, whilst West-

ern Rural and Moyamba have the

lowest differences between the

quantity of Depo-Provera dispensed

to those received by clients

Total recurrent expenditure for 1st

January - 30th June 2020 was 28

billion Leones, or 60% of the total

annual recurrent budget of 54.9 bil-

lion Leones for 2020

The major cost driver in the first half

of the year was national emergency

medical services with over 30% of

MoHS recurrent expenditure

Government paid 6.6 billion to

NMSA for the procurement of drugs

and medical supplies

Drugs

Health Financing

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

Nu

mb

er

RDT Kits dispensed compared to fever cases tested with RDT, January - June 2020

Malaria RDT Kit - Quantity Dispensed Fever case tested RDT

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

Num

ber

Depo-Provera dispensed and those received by client, January - June 2020

Depo-Provera 150mg/ml, Pdr for Inj Quantity Dispensed

Family planning client Injectables, New and Continuing Clients

Page 12: Government of Sierra Leone Directorate of Policy, Planning ......1 Health Information Bulletin Volume 7, Issue 2 January-June 2020 August 2020 Government of Sierra Leone Directorate

12

Please help us improve future editions by sending your comments and suggestions to :

Dr. Francis Smart Dr. Edward Magbity Ibrahim Kamara

Director, DPPI, MoHS M&E Specialist, DPPI, MoHS HMIS Data Manager, DPPI, MoHS

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

+232 78 300933 +232 78 434267 +232 79 151515

Strengthening and streamlining public health commodities quantification process in Sierra Leone

Context and challenge The Free Health Care (FHC) Initiative was introduced in 2010 to ensure that pregnant and lactating mothers and children aged under five have free access to care including medicines and other medical supplies. The first step in achieving commodity security for any public health programme is being able to accurately determine the quantity of products needed over time. The development of demand forecast and supply plan/delivery schedule is referred to as quantification. In Sierra Leone, the quantification of FHC commodities was facing many challenges: uncoordinated plans/schedules with inaccurate data, few or no assumptions built into the process, and minimum stakeholder engagement. Furthermore, funding gap analyses were not done as part of quantification exercises to support funding mobilisation and budgeting. Consequently, limited funds were allocated for FHC commodity procurement, leading to limited availability of essential commodities at health facilities. Action steps and solutions Crown Agents supported the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) in 2019 by working closely with the Directorate of Drugs and Medical Supplies (DDMS) and the National Medical Supplies Agency (NMSA). The support focused on supply chain activities and quanti-fication as part of the DFID-funded Saving Lives programme. Additionally during June and July 2019, Crown Agents supported the DDMS in leading a national two-year forecasting and supply planning exercise for 227 FHC products. Prior to the quantification exercise a planning meeting was held by the DDMS Director and Chief Pharmacist to define the scope of quantification and develop an activity plan. Data was collected and analysed relating to morbidity/demographics, consumption, service and proxy consumption. Data on stocks available and shipments on order was also collected to inform the supply planning process. Results Participating national and international stakeholders were pleased with the process and hence confident of the quantification results. The funding gap analysis attracted a lot of interest, leading all stakeholders to propose the use of this tool for the funding mobilisation effort..The MoHS approved the quantification results to inform procurement decisions for 2020. Lessons learned Crown Agents and DDMS learned some key lessons in the process.

In Sierra Leone, data for quantification is not readily available and consequently the aggregation of consumption data alone was a complicated process requiring approximately two weeks. The review of various documents and reports from the Demographic and Health Survey, the population census and the District Health Information System (DHIS2), among others, provided good sources of morbidity data that informed the quantification exercise.

The engagement of multiple stakeholders added credibility and wide acceptance of the results from the process.

In the past, obtaining indicative prices for products was difficult and time-consuming, often taking several weeks. However, in 2019, indicative prices required for the quantification exercise were obtained from the price catalogues of international suppliers such as UNICEF and Management Sciences for Health (MSH). As a result, the pricing exercise took only one day.

Based on these lessons, other directorates at the MOHS are also utilising these lessons to do better quantification and forecasting. Recommendations With quantification being a data-sensitive activity undertaken by the DDMS, it is critically important for the Sierra Leone supply chain system to continue investing in data quality improvements. Continuous engagement with other stakeholders and institutionalising quantification activities into programme work plans are also important steps towards sustainability. Ownership of this is a critically im-portant supply chain function. It is also important to note quantification is not a one-time activity but rather a process of continuous monitoring of procurement, stock levels and quantification needs. Continuous reviews are equally important for the identification and avoidance of stock imbalances. These reviews can be carried out biannually by the NMSA in collaboration with the DDMS and supply chain implementing partner.

©Story is by courtesy of Crown Agents (part of the UNITE CONSORTIUM) funded by DFID under the Saving Lives in Sierra Leone (SLiSL) Programme.