NOTE: The following is taken from summaries released by PEPFAR on the PEPFAR Data Dashboard. They are incomplete summary paragraphs only and do not contain the full mechanism details. When the full narratives are released, we will update the mechanism pages accordingly.

Last year Supply Chain Management System (SCMS) was responsible for the procurement and supply of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B test kits and laboratory consumables for the PEPFAR South Sudan program. This is centrally managed through the working capital fund and supported by Freight in Time (FIT). FIT is responsible for the clearance of the goods at bonded warehouses and customs in Nairobi and Juba. FIT delivers supplies directly to the PEPFAR partners’ offices in Juba efficiently and within the shortest time possible.

The purpose of this parallel system is to have better control over the supply chain mechanism and to avoid stock out that would compromise program performance. The Ministry of Health (MoH) does not have a functional supply chain mechanism to handle HIV commodities. The Global Fund-supported warehouse has had management issues with inappropriate forecasting and frequent stock outs of essential commodities like ARVs and test kits. Inefficient delivery systems have resulted in commodities getting lost, damaged or delayed in transit to health facilities. In order to avoid incidences of stock outs, PEPFAR South Sudan will monitor consumption data collected quarterly from implementing partners and from supervisory visits.

SCMS supported procurement of ARVs under the GAP treatment program. Since there will not be additional Global Fund grants in the country for the next 18-24 months, PEPFAR South Sudan will extend the Treatment Bridge Program. Using pipeline funds, the country program will support the procurement and distribution of HIV test kits for the entire country program. This is in addition to supporting its program-specific needs for test kits.

Since COP2014, PEPFAR no longer produces narratives for every mechanism it funds. However, PEPFAR has now included performance targets or indicator information for each mechanism based on the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting (MER) system. The MER guidance is available on PEPFAR's website https://www.pepfar.gov/reports/guidance/. Note that COP years 2014-2015 were under a previous version of the MER system and the indicators and definitions may have changed as of the new 2.0 guidance.