Immunization supply chains (iSCs) move vaccines from manufacturer to point of use with the added complexities of requiring cold chain and an increasing need for agility and efficiency to ensure vaccine quality and availability. Underperforming iSCs have been widely acknowledged as a key constraint to achieving high immunization coverage rates in low- and middle-income countries. Many entities, in both the public and private sectors, have used a system design approach to analyze options to improve supply chain performance.
JSI staff Wendy Prosser, Cary Spisak, Benjamin Hatch, Joseph McCord, Marie Tien, and Greg Roche have had an article published in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice. The article, Designing supply chains to meet the growing need of vaccines: evidence from four countries, details the system design approach used to analyze the iSC network in Sierra Leone, Madagascar, Niger, and Guinea and documents six key lessons that can be used to guide future interventions and improve supply chain performance.