Overview

An efficient and reliable supply chain is essential to establishing universal health coverage. But in Cameroon, patients face many obstacles to receiving the medications they need. Shipping delays, storage issues, and insufficient data often cause medicine stock-outs, while a lack of standardization has further strained the health workforce. Ensuring that medicines are safe and used properly is also a challenge, and antimicrobial resistance remains one of the deadliest health threats in the country.  

Under the NextGen Comprehensive Technical Assistance award, MSH will work with local organizations Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services, Empower School of Health, Jembi, and Iris Group to implement the NextGen Efficient Supply Chains Advance Patient Engagement (ESCAPE) Activity. The five-year project builds on MSH’s longstanding partnership with the Government of Cameroon and will focus on strengthening the country’s supply chain and pharmaceutical management system to ensure the consistent availability of high-quality, safe, and effective medicines. Through the NextGen ESCAPE Activity, MSH aims to empower health workers through training and professional development programs, improve warehouse and distribution processes, and leverage digital technology to enhance data visibility.   

We will take an integrated approach to:

• Promote transparency, accountability, and effective governance 

• Increase stock of critical medicines and medical products 

• Strengthen the capacity of the health workforce and local institutions  

• Build efficient information and data systems to drive decision making  

• Establish public-private coalitions to contain antimicrobial resistance