Hello IAPHL,
Good Morning from Lagos and I hope we are all doing great. It is December already!
It is a productive practice for us to take some time to sit back and take stock as the year runs to an end. This is a good practice both at a personal and organizational level. I know some of us might have started or even concluded the process of taking stock for 2023 and the planning for 2024.
If you are like me, it is possible you might have noticed that there are some areas where demand and supply did not align to deliver on your set objectives. It is possible that some of your inventories are currently off tangent due to Bullwhip-Effect, Ripple-Effect or even Force Majeure. Yet encourage you to take a more mindful look, you will notice other areas where the inventory and bottom line are sane, healthy or even overwhelmingly great. So, in your evaluation and planning this season, take your time to harness your learnings and your gains and curate them into a beautiful Inventory of Gratitude as you move into the year 2024.
Yes, as IAPHL and at the secretariat, we had our own fair share of effects. Some webinars never held, some chapters did not take off, Some new initiatives did not launch and many budget lines on our workplan did not get funded. However, we are also glad to give you a peek into our own heartwarming inventory of gratitude for the year 2023 below:
- Governance and Leadership. The formed IAPHL Governing Council had the required two meetings in 2023 and an extraordinary meeting to approve the workplan and Monitoring and Evaluation framework for IAPHL. IAPHL leadership transition with new Executive Director and the Global Community Manager in Africa.
- Funding: We are growing our impact and the continuous funding from the USAID came with about 25% increase for FY2024 already. The received funding from the Global Fund for the first time for the Phase One of IAPHL Digital Transformation Initiative. Our partnership with our sponsors (PfSCM, Empower School of Health, GHSC Summit and ASCM) continued to yield bidirectional benefits. We thank you all for the leverage.
- New Initiatives and Products. Given the changing and growing needs of our community and the ecosystem at large, we rolled out some new products and initiatives. A few that have received some positive and encouraging feedback are The Spontaneous Calls, The IAPHL Magazine, IAPHL Digital Transformation Initiatives.
- Representation and Partnership. As a community of practice, we continued to enhance the larger ecosystem through our participation and contributions. This includes chapters’ contributions and advocacy works in different countries e.g Ghana Chapter in the works with CARISCA. Others include IAPHL innovation Cafe at Technet Conference in Panama City, Participation at the RHSC GMM in Accra, The GHSC Summit in Nairobi where we presented the Gender Inclusion as an approach to self reliance and the latest is at CPHIA by AfricaCDC in Lusaka where I discussed Supply Chain Integration as a panelist.
- Community Engagements: This remains the core and the most important bit of our success. We continuously witness, members connect and lock hands together to solve problems and enhance the practice of each other using our listserv and chapter forum. We see opportunities being shared and new ways of doing things emerging from our interactions. The webinars, both secretariat led and country-led have been amazing. I thank every resource person, contributors and authors for sharing their experience with us. I wonder who your IAPHL man of the year might be for 2023?
For the remaining part of the month of December as we close the year, we shall focus on the following activities.
- Evaluation and Planning. At secretariat, we shall continue our stock taking and plan for the year 2024 to be shared with you in January 2024.
- Community Engagement. Our community engagement is non-stop and 24/7. Let us continue to use the different channels to engage. Listserv, social media or directly to the secretariat.
- PtD Global Indaba 2024. I have shared the big news that we have secured a half-day for the IAPHL at the Global Indaba 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand. IAPHL sponsored some Ambassadors to the Global Indaba in 2022. In preparation for the Global Indaba 2024, this month we will have the Dominique Zwinkels on a Webinar with the IAPHL Ambassadors to share their experience with us. Please look out for the invite for December 15th!
We look forward to seeing at the PtD Global Indaba 2024 and I know you don’t want to miss it. It is IAPHL’s opportunity to come together as a community in-person to discuss IAPHL and the future of supply chain workforce. Please register here early to benefit from the early bird and secure your accommodation before the demand outweighs the supply capacity.
It’s 5th December and you are just reading from me but you have to pardon me because it’s my own share of bullwhip effect and I look forward to a finer outing next year.
As you check own stock, what effects have you noticed in your year?
I wonder if you would like to share some notes of gratitude with us.
Please let us share and learn from your experience.
Thank you the amazing time we have had together through the year 2023 so far!
Sincerely,
Timi.
From the Desk of the ED IAPHL: Dec 2023