Strong leadership and management have been recognised as important factors in the efficient use of resources, the delivery of quality health services, and the achievement of positive health outcomes.
Against this backdrop, the Committee of Heads of Pharmaceutical Services in South Africa identified the need to develop and strengthen leadership and management skills among pharmacists, with the aim of improving delivery of pharmaceutical services in the country. The Heads of Pharmaceutical Services approached the SIAPS predecessor, the USAID-funded Systems for Pharmaceuticals and Services (SPS) Project, to assist in developing or customising a program that would meet this need within the pharmaceutical services sector. SPS adapted the MSH Leadership Development Program (LDP) and combined it with technical pharmaceutical modules to create the Pharmaceutical Leadership Development Program (PLDP) which was piloted in 2011. Under SIAPS, the PLDP has grown from strength to strength, and has been rolled out in seven of the nine South African provinces.
Four years on, the work of the PLDP has been documented in a 12-minute video that gives insights into the creation and structure of the program. As the video shows, participants have not only developed their own personal management and leadership skills, but have also learned to use proven practices and tools to improve pharmaceutical service delivery in their facilities and within their districts.
The video shares results achieved thus far and shows how participants have worked in teams to identify workplace challenges and implement sustainable interventions to address these challenges. To learn more about the PLDP journey, we invite you to watch the video:
By Gail Mkele, Senior Technical Advisor, Leadership Development Program-South Africa
