Short Communications: Stakeholders’ Perceptions on Traceability of Pharmaceuticals in the Supply Chain in Ethiopia

Abstract

Globally, the pharmaceutical sector is one of the top performing high-technology sectors. This coupled with the involvement of multitude of  wholesalers and retailers in the supply chain makes the sector attractive for forgers to produce and distribute counterfeited drugs. In order to improve patient safety and supply chain efficiency, Ethiopia has prepared a strategic plan for the implementation of pharmaceutical traceability. However, little is known how different stakeholders perceive and could react to this initiative. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess stakeholders’ perceptions on the needs, challenges and concerns of implementing a traceable pharmaceutical supply chain system. Managers (n = 137), who are presumed to play critical roles in decision making in the pharmaceutical sector were surveyed by administering questionnaires. Data were collected from August to September, 2017 and analysed using descriptive statistics. Almost all stakeholders (96.4%) agreed on the importance of having a national level tracking and tracing system for pharmaceuticals. Their reasons were: to combat counterfeiting, theft and diversion of products (92.4%); to gain supply chain efficiencies (88.5%); to improve inventory management (86.9%) and patient care (74.4%). However, they were concerned about the high start-up and operational cost (61.1%), integration and interoperability (61.3) of the existing supply chain with a traceable system, data security, getting qualified contractors or service providers (66.5%). Overall, there is a positive perception and support for the implementation of pharmaceutical traceability system in the supply chain. However, concerns such as integrating traceability with the existing supply chain system, cost, and data security, need to be resolved through continued discussions, adequate preparation and phase-based  implementation.

Keywords: traceability, stakeholders, survey, pharmaceuticals, Ethiopia