The UN Commission on Life-Saving Commodities (UNCoLSC) Supply Chain Technical Resource Team developed a quantification supplement covering 13 underused reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health commodities with great lifesaving potential. These 13 commodities, prioritized by the UNCoLSC, have diverse characteristics: some are new products in the process of being introduced, while others have been in use for many years, but are underused or have not been available when needed.
On April 5, 2016, The UNCoLSC organized a webinar, facilitated by John Snow, Inc. (JSI) Research & Training Institute, on the quantification of RMNCH commodities. The webinar leaders included SIAPS Program Technical Advisor Reem Ghoneim.
The presentation focused on the recently published Quantification of Health Commodities: RMNCH Supplement, and was targeted at technical experts with the goal of assisting country quantification teams in carrying out evidence-based, demographic- and morbidity-based forecasting for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health products.
See the recording here or the presentation here.
The supplement should be viewed in conjunction with the main guide, Quantification of Health Commodities: A Guide to Forecasting and Supply Planning for Procurement.
While this guidance was developed primarily for public sector and NGO programs, the methodology presented could also be relevant for forecasting commodity needs for the private sector. The document is available in both English and French, and lists additional quantification resources in an annex.
There will be another offering of this webinar in French in May.
