This short overview provides basic guidance on supply chain considerations when managing hormonal implants.

This brief discusses trends in the demand for implants in selected countries, the cost of implants compared with other methods, and issues that might arise for the supply chain management of implants. It concludes with recommendations to ensure their availability and accessibility in family planning programs.

This advocacy brief provides information to health ministers and others about the attributes of long-acting and permanent methods of contraception (LAPMs) and offers practical advice for promoting LAPMs within a developing-country context.

This guide describes how stakeholders can use the SPARHCS Tool as a framework for identifying and prioritizing key RHCS issues, use and adapt the Tool, and carry out a process to plan and implement RHCS strategic plans. The Guide provides real world examples and options on how to use the program planning cycle to guide the SPARHCS process - a set of activities from awareness raising and diagnosis, to monitoring the effectiveness of a funded and implemented strategic plan.

This tool can help countries develop and implement strategies to secure essential supplies for family planning and reproductive health programs.

A web site for coordination of contraceptive orders and shipments. The RHInterchange provides access to up-to-date, harmonized data on more than $1 billion worth of shipments of contraceptive supplies for more than 140 countries around the world. Can be used for pipeline monitoring, commodity management, analysis, and planning.

Stockouts of contraceptive commodities and other needed equipment, instruments, and supplies for family planning provision are commonly reported in service programs. Unavailability of either the method itself or of other needed instruments and supplies means that implants services are also unavailable. Thus, attention to logistics is critical, and must include instruments expendable medical supplies as well as the contraceptive implant itself.

Comparison of hormonal implants, including manufacturer, formulation, mean insertion and removal time, labeled duration of product use, availability of trocars, per unit cost, cost per year (if used for duration) and WHO prequalification (PQA). Note: 2010 prices.

This document provides lists of both medical instruments and expendable medical supplies needed to provide the long-acting and permanent methods of contraception: hormonal implants, IUDs, female sterilization via minilaparotomy, and no-scalpel vasectomy. Information was drawn from EngenderHealth medical/clinical staff and the Surgical Instruments Catalogue from Militex Instruments Company.

This database provides information about hormonal contraceptive brands, composition, manufacturers, types, and the countries where they are available.

Marie Stopes International provides a range of kits for use in their partner programs. These kits are also available for other organizations to buy. Each kit comes complete with an auto-clavable pouch for easy transportation and sterilization of the equipment.

Explains the major aspects of logistics management with an emphasis on contraceptive supplies. Intended to help managers who work with supplies every day, as well as managers who assess and design logistics systems for entire programs. Policymakers may find the text useful in exploring the inputs needed to create an effective logistics system. Key terms and concepts are clearly defined and explained, and the design and implementation of managment information systems and inventory control are discussed in detail.

Public health program managers in resource-limited settings often recognize the importance of a well-designed logistics system after experiencing symptoms of poor logistics system performance, such as stockouts, overstocks, and expires. Based on experience designing logistics systems in many countries for many programs, the USAID | DELIVER PROJECT recommends the use of a system design workshop involving local participants. This method has proven to be highly efficient, with a likelihood of yielding an appropriate system design that is country specific.

This guide is for the staff of family planning or health clinics who manage contraceptive supplies and for the supervisor who oversees these logistics activities. Its purpose is to be a quick reference for logistics formulas and principles to help you manage your supplies (both contraceptives and other commodities) correctly and efficiently.

This qualitative data collection instrument provides a comprehensive system-level assessment of logistics system performance for any program that manages a health commodity.

A quantitative data collection instrument that assesses health commodity logistics system performance and commodity availability at health facilities. The User's Guide is included and provides detailed instructions on how to use the tool.

This guide for quantification of health commodities has been developed to assist technical advisors, program managers, warehouse managers, procurement officers, and service providers in (1) estimating the total commodity needs and costs for successful implementation of national health program strategies and goals, (2) identifying the funding needs and gaps for procurement of the required commodities, and (3) planning procurements and shipment delivery schedules to be able to ensure a sustained and effective supply of health commodities.

Reality √ is a family planning projection tool consisting of a straightforward Excel Workbook that allows one to assess past trends in the contraceptive prevalence rate and test future scenarios for the geographic area in which one’s program is operating. The tool also allows users to test and assess whether established goals are reasonable based on the local, specific context.

Aims to assist USAID health officers, Cooperating Agencies, and partners in identifying appropriate tools for forecasting contraceptive demand and need. The Guide describes four USAID-funded tools: the FamPlan module of Spectrum, CastCost, Reality √, and PipeLine. The Guide contains a narrative description of each tool, including the goals, uses and requirements of each tool, a situational analysis section to help determine which tool(s) to use in what situations, and a comprehensive table that allows side-by-side comparison of the features of each tool.

A reference book for forecasting commodity needs for family planning and HIV/AIDS prevention programs. Topics include general methodological considerations, data sources and alternative techniques for preparing forecasts of consumption, special considerations in forecasting for new programs and HIV/AIDS prevention programs, methods for validating the forecasts, procedures for calculating quantities of contraceptives required based on the consumption forecast, and methods for monitoring the forecast over time.

This tool is primarily used to estimate quantity and cost of contraceptives that will be needed in a country for each of the next five years.

Desktop software tool that helps program managers plan optimal procurement and delivery schedules for health commodities, and it monitors their orders throughout the supply chain. Policymakers, product suppliers, and donors can generate reports, estimate future project needs, and use the software as a key tool in program planning. This effective tool has been used in more than 40 countries around the world.

A program to project family planning requirements in order for consumers and/or nations to reach their goals of contraceptive practice or desired fertility.

A procurement table from the Public Health Procurement Guide and Product Catalog 2010.

USAID's Public Health Procurement Guide and Product Catalog 2010 is an annual publication of current contraceptive and condom ordering procedures for Missions and a catalog of condoms and contraceptives provided by USAID. It includes USAID contraceptive ordering procedures and guidance on how to use logistics data and forecasts to calculate contraceptive requirements. Includes USAID prices of contraceptives, including Jadelle implants, which can be helpful when advocating policy, etc.

This document, from September 2011, gives the status of the WHO pre-qualification of Sino-implant (II) and provides answers to frequently asked questions.

The "Pearls" from the U.S. Agency for International Development offer answers to commonly asked questions about family planning. This Pearl explains why USAID does not yet provide Sino-implant (II) to its programs and provides a list of countries where Sino-implant (II) is approved by national drug authorities as of April 2010. It also indicates that programs in Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Sierra Leone, or Zambia can purchase Sino-implant (II) from:

Sino-implant (II), a subdermal two-rod implant, has been available in China for more than 15 years and is also available in Indonesia and several African countries. Its effectiveness is comparable to other contraceptive implants but its lower cost has the potential to make it a prominent family planning method in resource-constrained countries. FHI has developed and implemented an independent quality assurance program for Sino-implant (II) to provide additional evidence of product quality.

As more developing countries take on responsibility for purchasing health commodities, requisite capabilities -- such as decision-making, planning, and technical skills -- often require strengthening. To address this need, PATH developed the comprehensive Procurement Capacity Toolkit for those responsible for and involved in the supply of reproductive health products.

UNFPA is the lead agency within the UN system for the procurement of reproductive health commodities. Vendors wishing to do business with UNFPA should register with UNFPA through the UN Global Marketplace.

Implants on pp. 3-4. Includes information about storage conditions, indicators of quality problems, and types of implants by donor and manufacturer, including information about shelf life and dimensions of shipping carton.

This is a one page description of guidelines for disposal of contraceptive commodities provided by USAID. This is included in the Attachments section, page 41, of the Public Health Procurement Guide and Product Catalog 2010.

This document provides background information and assessment and planning tools to assist health care waste management advisors with developing and implementing national-level plans.

This document provides guidance for selecting the most appropriate method for safely managing solid waste generated at primary health care centers in developing countries. It includes six decision trees aimed at assisting the user in identifying appropriate waste management methods. This guide may also be used to evaluate existing practices related to healthcare waste management. It is intended for staff working in primary healthcare centers and technical staff working in the local, state, or central administration.

A practical reference for those managing or involved in setting up a storeroom or warehouse. The guide contains written directions and clear illustrations on receiving and arranging commodities; special storage conditions; tracking commodities; maintaining the quality of the products; constructing and designing a medical store; waste management; and resources. It was written to meet the needs of district-level facilities; however, the guidelines and information it contains apply to any storage facility, of any size, in any type of environment.

This document provides basic steps and a simple and practical approach for the preparation of a HCWM plan in small, medium and large health care establishments. It is hoped this will assist managers of health care establishments in developing plans to optimize and sustain the operation of HCWM systems in their health care institutions.

This document was developed to assist health care planners at the national level. It provides an overview of the main aspects that have to be dealt with: a checklist for actions at national and local level is also included.