Data Visibility in the time of COVID-19

During this unprecedented time of COVID-19 the OpenLMIS core team is heavily focused on supporting countries to optimize OpenLMIS to support national and international COVID response efforts.

Over the next 6-12 months visibility and accuracy of supply chain data will be more important than ever- specifically reporting consumption and stock levels from health facilities. This data is critical to tightly manage limited supplies and accurately inform national supply chain decisions, but also to inform global partners who are coordinating allocation of key supplies, such as PPE and testing supplies. We encourage countries to utilize eLMIS systems, such as OpenLMIS, as valuable tools in their ‘COVID response toolbox’.  OpenLMIS enables improved in-country coordination of supply/demand needs at different levels, and provides the much-needed visibility national-level product demand to global actors.

OpenLMIS Community Support

We are helping our OpenLMIS implementing countries by providing technical consultations to optimize the use of OpenLMIS during COVID-19; supporting teams to add new products, and make small configurations to meet country needs. Upcoming OpenLMIS Community meetings will provide opportunities for teams to share experiences using OpenLMIS during the COVID-19 pandemic, and request support from community colleagues. We encourage technical questions to be funnelled through the #help channel on OpenLMIS Slack, as well as via our OpenLMIS online discussion forum. Collaboration and cross country learning are principles that we have always promoted in the OpenLMIS community, but now more than ever we encourage our colleagues to come together to share resources and ideas, with the common goal of getting our health systems prepared with the essential products needed to respond to COVID-19, as well as to maintain strong PHC services throughout the pandemic.

• OpenLMIS COVID-19 Response Webinar- recording now available!
  • Learn how OpenLMIS fits into the current global emergency supply chain picture, and see a demo of the new OpenLMIS -COVID Edition
  • Click here to view a recording of the OpenLMIS COVID-19 Response Webinar

New OpenLMIS-COVID Edition available!

CHAI and the OpenLMIS Steward team are partnering to rapidly configure OpenLMIS to manage COVID-specific commodities. The new OpenLMIS-COVID Edition is now available and is already being rolled out in multiple countries to help with stock management and visibility for COVID-related products. The tool also aligns its product list with WHO’s product list that all international agencies will be using making it easier for countries to accept and track commodities purchased and delivered by donors. Emergencies are a time for quick action—this cloud-based standalone tool is designed for rapid deployment and requires minimal setup cost and effort. It is also separate from your routine OpenLMIS instance, eliminating the risk of introducing errors or complexity into the routine system or requiring COVID-related modifications to it.

 The OpenLMIS- COVID Edition supports the following workflows:

• Stock management from supply depot/warehouse to facility level
• Manage requisitions from and replenishments to facilities
• Proof of delivery to track shipments and order fulfilment
• Ventilator location and operational status monitoring and reporting
• Dashboard and reports for national, sub-national and facility level users – stock on hand and consumption trends

Demo video now available here!

Use of this tool provides a unique opportunity for countries to plug their supply data into the global supply chain control tower (currently being created) to contribute to global supply data visibility and end to end supply chain collaboration. If you are interested in adopting this tool and want more information, contact: Gaurav Bhattacharya (CHAI) gbhattacharya@clintonhealthaccess.org and Rebecca Alban (OpenLMIS) Rebecca.alban@openlmis.org

Use OpenLMIS to Plug into the Global COVID-19 Supply Chain 

Given the international emergency supply situation, it is imperative that country level response efforts to obtain COVID-19 supplies are tied to the larger global coordination mechanisms. Countries are encouraged to use OpenLMIS to determine their demand for specific quantities, and then escalate the demand to the global community for support and coordination. The WHO has worked with global actors to create a COVID-19 supply chain system whereby:

• • Countries can make commodity requests through the COVID-19 Supplies Portal
    • If not already registered, countries can sign up to the COVID-19 Partners Platform
    • A catalogue of items that can be requested is available online
  • WHO guidance on essential COVID products is available here on WHO’s website

We as an initiative vow to continue to be a strong advocate for supply chain data visibility at the country and global levels, and look forward to opportunities leverage our technical expertise and strong network of community partners to strengthen the COVID-19 response.