Examining Public Sector Availability and Supply Chain Management Practices for Malaria Commodities: Findings From Northern Nigeria.

Background: Nigeria accounts for substantial proportions of global malaria infections and deaths, with children aged younger than 5 years being the most affected group. This suggests that access to lifesaving malaria interventions could be suboptimal, especially at public health facilities where most rural dwellers seek health care. We conducted this study to ascertain if public health facilities have the commodities and the robust supply chain management (SCM) system required to deliver malaria interventions to children younger than 5 years.

Method: We conducted a cross-sectional survey in 1,858 health facilities across 7 states in Nigeria. Using structured questionnaires, we assessed the availability of selected malaria commodities required by children aged younger than 5 years. We also interviewed health workers to evaluate other core SCM activities.

Result: More than 50% of health facilities in 5 states were stocked out of malaria rapid diagnostic tests (mRDTs), and stock-out rates for artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) were over 50% for almost all assessed ACTs across all states. The percentage of health facilities that received malaria commodities within the recommended lead time was below average across most states (71%). States with a higher percentage of health workers who were aware of and placed orders following the national reporting timeline and those that delivered commodities to the last mile predominantly through third-party logistics service providers tended to have higher availability of mRDTs and artemether/lumefantrine combinations. The top 2 logistics challenges were insecurity and inadequate funding.

Conclusion: The availability of lifesaving malaria commodities across the health facilities visited was suboptimal, possibly due to several SCM challenges. The results from this study underscore the urgent need to implement effective interventions to address the observed gaps. This will contribute to reducing malaria morbidity and mortality among children aged younger than 5 years in Nigeria.