The goal of the SCMS project is to strengthen supply chain systems for HIV commodities, including forecasting and procurement, distribution, storage and dispensing. The SCMS project provides HIV commodities to 32 provinces and will provide technical assistance (TA) on supply chain management at the national and provincial levels. The government of Vietnam (GVN) has set a goal of providing 72,000 patients with ARV treatment by the end of Sept. 2013. With the increased number of people on ARVs, SCMS will need to increase its TA interventions at the facility level, increasing its support from 22 to 167 patient sites, since Aug. 2008. SCMS project staff will intensify site-level supervision visits, in conjunction with GVN staff and with Provincial AIDS Committees (PACs) staff, to reinforce standard pharmaceutical management practices at each facility. As PEPFAR funding in Vietnam is reduced, the sustainability of the national HIV supply chain will be a priority in COP 12. The SCMS project will continue to provide evidence and TA to GVN on the development and operational progress of a national supply chain system and other supply chain system-strengthening activities. No vehicles will be purchased for this project.

The Supply Chain Management System (SCMS) project, with PEPFAR support, has been ensuring an uninterrupted supply of HIV-related laboratory commodities. In COP 12, the project will maintain a supply chain of reagents, maintenance and QA activities required to provide quality testing services for adult, pediatric and PMTCT patients. Commodity-related funding will cover the procurement and distribution of reagents and supplies for 9 BD machines and 2 early infant diagnosis (EID) machines. The project will provide technical assistance (TA) to the Vietnam Administration for HIV/AIDS Control (VAAC) to establish a National Lab supportive supervision mechanism through which capacity and responsibility to ensure the quality of lab supply chain services at the site level can be transferred to VAAC and provincial level management. The project also will provide TA to VAAC for the integration of supply chain planning and distribution activities for lab reagents and supplies across the different partners and program areas of VAAC with funding under OHSS. The objective of this activity is to create harmonization and standardization across the board to effectively utilize resources at all levels of the supply chain to create a sustainable supply chain system for lab supplies managed by GVN.

The SCMS project supports the Vietnam Administration for HIV/AIDS Control (VAAC) in establishing an integrated supply chain system that can ensure the availability of effective, safe, quality and economical commodities to HIV patients. COP 12 funding will build on supply chain-strengthening activities initiated in COP 11 with VAAC. The major barriers to the supply chain system include the fragmentation of the supply chain under different program categories; absence of organizational structures, and unclear roles and responsibilities; and ambiguous policies, procedures and framework for pharmaceutical supply chain. Under the OHSS budget code, the project will continue its support to VAAC and the Ministry of Health (MOH) to strengthen the supply chain system through integration across commodities and donors in Vietnam. The following are the primary focus areas in which technical assistance (TA) will be provided: -Strengthen supportive supervision mechanisms for facilities to improve the quality of pharmaceutical and supply management services at the facility level. -Strengthen the supply chain management information system to improve effective and evidence-based decision making at all levels of VAAC. -Strengthen the human resource system to define the supply chain-related organizational structure, roles and responsibilities, and to improve the quality of pharmaceutical and supply management activities at all levels of VAAC. TA will be provided to VAAC to strengthen the supply chain system in the TAs stated above. These activities will help to overcome those barriers and will result in a more sustainable supply chain system. The project also will develop the capacity of VAAC in these areas by involving it in establishing policies, procedures and frameworks, and providing formal capacity-building for trainers. This consensus and coordination will help to harmonize and standardize the services across the board. The funding from other sources (i.e. Global Fund and the National program) also will be used to establish a functioning national HIV supply chain system.

Since 2008, the SCMS project has ensured uninterrupted supply of methadone as a critical harm-reduction intervention. In COP 12, the project will support 12,500 patients at 50 treatment sites with no additional scale-up. $1.6 million of IDUP funding will be used to procure methadone and support logistic-related activities. $200,000 will be used for capacity building, QA and coordination activities necessary to strengthen the system for methadone supply chain management. To ensure the quality of services, the project will establish a supportive supervision mechanism that will be implemented at different service provision levels by continuous monitoring, planning and performance evaluation. Additionally in COP 12, the project will work with the Vietnam Administration for HIV/AIDS Control (VAAC) to integrate the methadone supply chain within the HIV supply chain. This will include integration in supply-chain planning, distribution, supportive supervision and rational use of methadone at the site level. Because sustainability of the methadone and ARV supply chain is a key priority in COP 12, the project will transition key functions of supply chain management to VAAC.

The SCMS project provides support to 62 PMTCT sites, including support to the Vietnam Administration for HIV/AIDS Control (VAAC) on procurement planning and commodity distribution. Dispensers at PMTCT sites receive training on reporting, stock management and dispensing both in workshops and during site supervision visits. In 2010, the project started working on rationalization of site management, decreasing the number of visits to sites each year. This rationalization will continue along with continued dialogue with other stakeholders. COP 12 activities in this budget code will strengthen the capacity of VAAC to standardize supply chain services at the facility level, including MTCT, the supportive supervision mechanism at the Provincial AIDS Committee (PAC) level and other supply chain-related activities at different levels of the system. COP 12 MTCT activities also will be linked with OHSS activities to develop an integrated national supply chain system, which includes MTCT sites.

The Supply Chain Management System (SCMS) project, with PEPFAR support, has been ensuring an uninterrupted supply of HIV-related pharmaceuticals and supplies in Vietnam since 2006, to cater the needs of PLHIV. With COP 12 funding, the project will support up to 57,000 patients and maintain supply chain of ARV and opportunistic infection medicines required for adult, pediatric and PMTCT patients. Funding also will be used to support planning, coordination, QA and monitoring for commodity distribution. Since 2010, SCMS has focused on national procurement strategic planning by providing technical assistance (TA) to the government of Vietnam (GVN) to strengthen its capacity to forecast annual requirements and quarterly orders for HIV-related pharmaceuticals and supplies. Strengthening GVN capacity in forecasting and quantifications is critical to the sustainability of the HIV supply chain, as these functions will be gradually transitioned to GVN beginning in COP 12. In FY 2011, the SCMS project provided HIV commodities to national and Global Fund (GF) programs as they were experiencing a stock-out. To avoid future stock-outs, SCMS has worked with national and GF programs to integrate supply chain planning. Under this mechanism, the capacity of the Vietnam Administration for HIV/AIDS Control (VAAC) and all other partners are being developed to conduct annual and quarterly procurement planning activities to ensure the effective utilization of available resources and to avoid stock-outs.

Currently, the SCMS project provides technical assistance (TA) to the Vietnam Administration for HIV/AIDS Control (VAAC) to develop an efficient supply chain management system that can ensure the availability of quality pharmaceutical and supplies services at all levels of the system. In COP 12, the project will work with the government of Vietnam (GVN) to define a standardized package of supply chain services needed at different levels within the national HIV program, from a national to communal level. Once a standard set of services is determined, SCMS will provide formal training and on-the-job coaching and mentoring. Additionally, the project will monitor and evaluate the quality of services provided at different levels against defined standards and through continuous monitoring. The project will ensure the ownership and sustainability of supply chain interventions by transferring the skills and responsibility of supply chain management activities to government staff, and by advocating for routine planning cost inclusion in the HIV budget. Human resource development and standardization of services will enable VAAC to harmonize service levels within the organizational model of supply chain and sustain those activities in a cost-efficient manner.

The targeted number of pediatric patients in COP 12 and COP 13 are 3,360 and 3,700, respectively. Starting in COP 12, the project will provide technical assistance (TA) to the government of Vietnam (GVN) to strengthen the supply chain information management system at all levels within the HIV program. This will enable the national program to improve its quality in data recording, reporting, analysis, evidence-based decision making and feedback. The project will continue providing TA to strengthen the capacity of health professionals on different components of supply chain management at the national and provincial levels, to improve the quality and effectiveness of services regarding pediatric medicines and supplies, such as pediatric ARVs, opportunistic infection medicines, early infant diagnosis services and viral load testing.