Presenting a Framework to Professionalize Health Supply Chain Management

Health commodities reach patients through long and complex supply chains. Any weaknesses in the supply chain can result in supply shortages, which are widely recognized as significant limiters of health outcomes. Health supply chains depend on a well-staffed workforce comprising skilled, motivated, and recognized professionals that ensure health commodities reach the patients who need them. Yet many countries have an insufficient supply of adequately skilled supply chain workers to manage health commodities, and no global standards in education or experience exist for the supply chain management (SCM) workforce managing health products. In this article, the authors present a professionalization framework for the health SCM workforce that provides a systematic process that countries can use to standardize and elevate the health SCM profession.