The document discusses two key handovers from USAID's SIAPS program to Bangladesh's DGFP. First, SIAPS developed a monthly "DGFP Stock Status Report" providing stock levels, procurement status, and pipeline information for reproductive health commodities. This report was successfully handed over to DGFP's Logistics and Supply unit in June 2014. Second, SIAPS revised DGFP's monthly logistics report to use an electronic dashboard and database instead of a manual report. This reduced generation time from two months to just five minutes. DGFP leadership endorsed this new electronic report in July 2014. These handovers represent major transitions for DGFP's reporting systems from manual to automated approaches.

1. Handing over of stock status and logistics report
to DGFP in Bangladesh
Mohammad Golam Kibria; Senior Technical Advisor- HIS, MSH/SIAPS, Bangladesh
November, 2014
Uninterrupted availability of RH commodities at the point of need is a critical
contributing factor to ending preventable maternal and child deaths. But, at the very
basic level, it calls for regular documentation and reporting of the stock status which
provides strategic supply chain information to the national level decision makers.
Previously, the Directorate General of Family Planning (DGFP) under the Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) in Bangladesh did not have any
comprehensive reporting mechanism that would provide available stock and logistic
information required to make appropriate procurement and logistics decisions at the
national level and facilitate implementations. Lack of such crucial information often led to
sporadic stock imbalances for necessary RH commodities at the country level.
In 2011, the USAID-funded Systems for Improved Access to Pharmaceuticals and
Services (SIAPS) Program, implemented by Management Sciences for Health
(MSH) started providing technical assistance to DGFP under the MOHFW of
Bangladesh following the success of its predecessor program Strengthening
Pharmaceutical Systems (SPS).
SPS supported (later supported by SIAPS) the DGFP to develop a monthly stock
status reporting system entitled as the “DGFP Stock Status Report”, a two-page
document with a colored bar chart providing information on the stock situation,
pipeline position and procurement status of RH commodities including DDS Kits.
This visually engaged report was designed to give a comprehensive picture on the
actual consumption and availability of RH commodities along with the pipeline
information and potential procurement status to the national level managers and
policy makers. This reporting system received attention from all concerned in the
DGFP, the MOHFW and development partners in the country as data from the report
allows an in-depth, interactive discussion among partners in the national coordination
meetings (e.g. DGFP Logistics Coordination Forum-LCF and Forecasting Working
Group-FWG) and influences to make evidence-based decisions. In addition, the
report guides the health informatics practitioners to revise annual forecasting, fund-
gap analysis, and supply planning prior to the commencement of procurement phase.
Therefore, regarding it as an important and useful tool, DGFP took a decision that the
"DGFP Stock Status Report" will be taken over by the Logistics and Supply (L&S)
unit of DGFP from SIAPS. DGFP designated relevant personnel through an official
notification dated on 11 September 2013, to take over the reporting responsibility
phase by phase. Following this, SIAPS provided necessary on the job training on the
preparation of the report to facilitate proper skill transfer. Finally, it was successfully
handed over to the L&S unit of DGFP on June, 2014.

2. DGFP Stock Status Report, generated to provide early warning information of stock
availability “at a glance”. Green indicates months of stock on hand, yellow indicates stock on
order, and blue indicates planned procurement.
With this successful handing over, SIAPS is one step ahead with its sustainability plan
and ultimately aiding the country’s progress to reducing maternal and child mortality
by reducing the unmet need for contraceptives.
Similarly, SIAPS assisted DGFP to review the content of DGFP monthly logistics
report (along with timeliness) which took at least two months to generate. This long
lead time of producing the report reduced the value of data and appropriate decision
was hard to make based on such past information. Most importantly, the report lacked
visually engaged graph, charts etc. rather piled up with redundant information that
contributes the downward trend of the usage. Identifying these gaps, SIAPS revised
the report with interactive dashboard- chart, map, graph and table and used the DGFP
web based Logistics Management Information System (eLMIS) for generating the
report electronically which implies that as soon as data is uploaded in the central data
repository tShe report could be generated seamlessly. This electronic process takes
only 5 minutes to generate the report as opposed to two months previously. During a
technical meeting on 16 July 2014 organized by DGFP’s Management Information
System (MIS) unit with the presence of the Director General (DG) of DGFP, this new
report using the eLMIS (www.dgfplmis.org) was shared with all Line Directors and
the DG for getting their concurrence. The participants including the DG expressed
their satisfaction with the new look of the report and endorsed accordingly and
directed the MIS unit to produce and disseminate the report as demonstrated with the
data of June 2014 and onwards.
These two events are
big paradigm shifts for
DGFP as to
transitioning from
manual approach to
automation in the
history of the entity’s
reporting system.
Resulting to
this, DGFP
continues to
ensure
contraceptive
security for last
four
consecutive
years and
reducing stock
out significantly
at any level in
supply chain
system.