| Printable Copy |
 |
| Printable Copy |
|
Abstract below; full text is at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X1730052X
Volume 35, Issue 17, 19 April 2017, Pages 2175–2182
Show more
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2016.11.100
Under a Creative Commons license
Open Access
As part of its vaccine supply chain redesign efforts, Kano state now pushes vaccines directly from 6 state stores to primary health centers equipped with solar refrigerators. Our objective is to describe preliminary results from the first 20 months of Kanos direct vaccine delivery operations.
This is a retrospective review of Kanos direct vaccine delivery program. We analyzed trends in health facility vaccine stock levels, and examined the relationship between stock-out rates and each of cascade vaccine deliveries and timeliness of deliveries. Analysis of vaccination trends was based on administrative data from 27 sentinel health facilities. Costs for both the in-sourced and out-sourced approaches were estimated using a bottoms-up model-based approach.
Overall stock adequacy increased from 54% in the first delivery cycle to 68% by cycle 33. Conversely, stock-out rates decreased from 41% to 10% over the same period. Similar trends were observed in the out-sourced and in-sourced programs. Stock-out rates rose incrementally with increasing number of cascade facilities, and delays in vaccine deliveries correlated strongly with stock-out rates. Recognizing that stock availability is one of many factors contributing to vaccinations, we nonetheless compared pre- and post- direct deliveries vaccinations in sentinel facilities, and found statistically significant upward trends for 4 out of 6 antigens. 1 antigen (measles) showed an upward trend that was not statistically significant. Hepatitis b vaccinations declined during the period. Overall, there appeared to be a one-year lag between commencement of direct deliveries and the increase in number of vaccinations. Weighted average cost per delivery is US$29.8 and cost per child immunized is US$0.7 per year.
Direct vaccine delivery to health facilities in Kano, through a streamlined architecture, has resulted in decreased stock-outs and improved stock adequacy. Concurrent operation of insourced and outsourced programs has enabled Kano build in-house logistics capabilities.