Many of our clients learn about family planning from routine visits to rural health facilities. The health workers in this facility help patients and their families choose appropriate contraception methods and teach new clients how to use these methods correctly. The same health workers who are responsible for treating patients are often also responsible for monitoring the supply of contraception methods in the facility. When torn between caring for a waiting room full of patients and filling out paperwork to order new supplies, health workers discovered that they were stocking out of essential contraception supplies. This meant that they had to turn away patients—many of whom had traveled considerable distances to get these family planning services. The discouraged clients lost confidence in the health system and were less inclined to seek out family planning services if products they wanted were not available when they needed them.

DDIC truck delivering commodities at a rural health facility in Nigeria. Photo credit: USAID | DELIVER PROJECT

DDIC truck delivering commodities at a rural health facility in Nigeria. Photo credit: USAID | DELIVER PROJECT

To rectify the stock-out situation and improve access and availability to family planning commodities in Nigeria, the USAID|DELIVER PROJECT is piloting a system called Direct Delivery and Information Capture (DDIC) in Ebonyi and Bauchi states. Through DDIC, the project currently delivers 24 public health commodities, including contraceptives, antimalarial medications, and maternal, newborn and child health products to 365 selected service delivery points in the selected states.

The DDIC system utilizes a vendor-managed inventory model, whereby products are delivered from state warehouses directly to the health facilities on trucks that serve as mobile warehouses. The trucks arrive, carrying predetermined quantities of health commodities, based on the facilities’ past consumption data. By investing in reliable transportation, DDIC ensures that truck drivers and team leaders are available to deliver commodities to health facilities according to an established delivery schedule. A team leader traveling with the truck inspects the facilities’ storage space, counts stock-on-hand for the different health commodities, and enters this inventory data into a specifically-designed inventory management database. The database calculates the quantity of products to be issued to the facility to bring the quantity of stock of contraceptives back to the pre-determined levels. Data obtained from each facility are synchronized with a sister software to generate logistics reports that help monitor system performance and prepare for the next resupply period.

Commodities are supplied to the health facilities every two months. After just four consecutive supply trips, the availability of commodities at participating facilities has drastically improved. Stock-out rates of contraceptives and other common health products have been reduced from above 70% before DDIC was implemented to below 5%. Additionally, 100% of the targeted health facilities have received a bi-monthly visit with the team leader. Furthermore, essential logistics data are now readily available for public health supply chain experts to use in future decision making about future health commodity needs.

Though still in the pilot phase, DDIC has improved the availability of contraceptives and other commodities in rural health facilities in supported states. It has also relieved many of the health facility staff of paperwork duties, so they can focus more on providing better quality care to patients. Consequently, clients’ confidence in the health facility’s ability to provide health services is increasing.

So, what does it take to get contraceptives to clients in rural Nigeria?

Through DDIC, USAID is improving availability of contraceptives at rural health facilities on a regular bimonthly delivery schedule, thereby increasing families’ patronage and uptake of family planning services. DDIC has come to the rescue ensuring commodities availability at facilities and data for planning in Nigeria!

Learn more about how USAID is working towards ensuring safe motherhood and healthy families around the world.

Learn more about our Mission of the Month: USAID Nigeria. Follow @USAID for ongoing updates in the region and join the conversation with the hashtag #MissionofMonth!