Supply chains and preparedness
When an infectious disease outbreak occurs, an effective response depends on a combination of strong health systems, trained healthcare workers, well-equipped facilities, robust surveillance and laboratory networks, and reliable access to medical products and technologies.
Together, these components form the foundation of health and pandemic preparedness, which in turn strengthens health security.
Among these critical elements, the health supply chain plays a central role in ensuring that diagnostics, personal protective equipment (PPE), laboratory supplies, medicines, vaccines, and other essential products are available where and when they are needed.
Why the health supply chain is a frontline defense against outbreaks
When an outbreak begins, donors, governments, and health organizations must quickly answer a series of urgent questions:
- Where can we source the right products?
- Which suppliers can be trusted?
- Do products meet international quality standards?
- How do we secure enough supply to prevent shortages in a competitive environment?
- What regulatory approvals are needed?
- How can products be transported quickly and safely?
- How do we ensure products reach the right locations?
- How can customs processes be accelerated?
- Can import duties or taxes be waived during an emergency?
The ability to answer these questions quickly can significantly influence the effectiveness of an outbreak response.
A resilient health supply chain enables countries to rapidly identify qualified suppliers, prequalify products, negotiate pricing, manage procurement, coordinate shipping, secure emergency regulatory approvals, navigate customs requirements, and deliver lifesaving products where they are needed most.
This becomes even more important when global demand surges during a pandemic or outbreak. As the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated, countries often compete for the same diagnostics, PPE, laboratory reagents, and medical technologies. Organizations with strong supplier relationships, market intelligence, and logistics capabilities can help countries secure access to critical products when supply is limited and markets are highly volatile.
What an effective emergency response looks like
Effective outbreak preparedness requires an integrated procurement and supply chain approach that combines:
- Strategic sourcing and supplier prequalification
- Product quality assurance and regulatory compliance
- Emergency procurement and contracting
- Global freight and logistics management
- Cold chain transportation
- Customs clearance and importation support
- Emergency tax and duty waiver coordination
- Real-time shipment visibility
- Market intelligence and risk monitoring
These capabilities help ensure countries can rapidly access diagnostics, laboratory equipment, genomic sequencing technologies, PPE, infection-prevention products, medical imaging systems, waste-management equipment, and other essential outbreak-response products.
When outbreaks occur, there is little time to build these systems from scratch. Organizations that have already established supplier networks, quality management processes, logistics partnerships, and emergency operating procedures can move significantly faster.
Two decades of supporting global health preparedness
For more than 20 years, the Partnership for Supply Chain Management (PFSCM) has helped governments, donors, and global health partners strengthen health supply chains and respond to public health emergencies.
Originally established in 2005 to strengthen HIV supply chains, PFSCM has expanded its expertise to support preparedness and response efforts for Ebola, Mpox, COVID-19, tuberculosis, malaria, and a growing range of emerging infectious disease threats.
Between 2020 and 2026 alone, PFSCM managed the sourcing, procurement, and delivery of pandemic preparedness and outbreak response products across 108 countries.
These products included rapid diagnostic tests, molecular and PCR diagnostics, laboratory reagents, genomic sequencing technologies, PPE, medical imaging equipment, biosafety cabinets, sterilization systems, and medical waste management solutions.
Strengthening preparedness for Mpox and Ebola
PFSCM's sourcing and procurement strategies prioritize proactive anticipation over reactive fulfillment. By leveraging deep technical expertise in diagnostics and laboratory systems, our team continuously scans markets, tracks global developments, and analyzes emerging disease trends to identify critical products well before they are needed. We maintain constant vigilance over the pipeline of emerging technologies, ensuring we are prepared to support the diverse needs of an outbreak.
This foresight allows us to initiate strategic supplier engagement and negotiations early, ensuring that when crises occur, our partners and clients have streamlined access to essential technologies without the delays of a surge-driven market.
Further, we prioritize multidisease testing by strategically sourcing versatile diagnostics that can be used across the board and quickly adapted for emergency response, ensuring that our preparedness measures remain both adaptable and effective.
Since 2024, PFSCM has developed and operationalized product portfolios to support Mpox and Ebola preparedness and response efforts. This initiative involved:
- Identifying qualified suppliers
- Conducting supplier due diligence and verification
- Ensuring products met stringent quality standards
- Completing regulatory reviews
- Onboarding suppliers into digital management systems
- Making approved products rapidly available for country ordering
Building new capabilities for a new era of preparedness
Modern disease surveillance increasingly relies on advanced technologies such as genomic sequencing, environmental surveillance, and sophisticated laboratory systems. Supply chains must evolve alongside these technologies.
Before 2019, PFSCM's operations focused primarily on large-scale, established pharmaceutical supply chains. As global needs changed, PFSCM rapidly expanded into highly specialized areas, including:
- Genomic sequencing technologies
- Advanced laboratory systems
- Biosafety cabinets
- Temperature-sensitive diagnostics
- Frozen and cold chain logistics
- Medical imaging equipment
- Medical waste management systems
Within a year of adding genomic sequencing technologies to its portfolio, PFSCM successfully delivered genomic analyzers to Benin and began supporting broader genomic surveillance initiatives for several countries.
By early 2026, PFSCM had delivered 371 shipments of genomic sequencing analyzers and reagents, covering more than 200 distinct items, and valued at more than $20 million to 35 countries.
Managing cold chain logistics in challenging environments
Many outbreak response products require strict temperature control throughout transportation and storage.
Managing these products across countries affected by infrastructure limitations, political instability, conflict, or regulatory complexity presents unique challenges.
To address these risks, PFSCM developed advanced cold chain capabilities capable of supporting frozen, refrigerated, and temperature-sensitive products worldwide.
In 2023, PFSCM reported zero insurance claims related to temperature-controlled, cold chain, or frozen shipments. In 2025, there was only one. These outcomes reflect the importance of robust quality systems, real-time monitoring technologies, and careful logistics planning.
Responding rapidly
One of the clearest examples of PFSCM's supply chain agility occurred during the early months of COVID-19.
In May 2020, during a period marked by global lockdowns, severe freight disruptions, and unprecedented demand for diagnostics, PFSCM delivered its first COVID-19 diagnostics shipment to Uganda in just 10 days from request to proof of delivery.
That timeline included:
- Product sourcing and procurement
- Air-freight coordination (including charters)
- Export documentation and customs management
At a time when global supply chains were under extraordinary pressure, the ability to move critical diagnostics this quickly demonstrated the value of established emergency response systems and experienced supply chain teams.
Helping make testing more affordable
Pandemic preparedness also entails making products more accessible and affordable.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, PFSCM conducted extensive supplier mapping, market research, and strategic tendering activities for diagnostics and related products.
This work helped improve visibility into a rapidly evolving market and supported negotiations that reduced the cost of antigen rapid diagnostic tests for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from about $2.50 to $3.00 per test to as low as $1.00 to $2.00 per test.
Those reductions helped expand access to testing at a time when diagnostics were among the most important tools for controlling disease transmission.
Resilience during global disruptions
A key measure of supply chain preparedness is the ability to maintain operations during disruptions. Over the past several years, PFSCM has successfully sustained continuity of supply despite a range of global and local challenges, including:
- COVID-19 global lockdowns
- Ukraine conflict-related freight disruptions
- Geopolitical instability in the Middle East
- Sudden customs and regulatory changes
- Warehouse pressures
- Social unrest and infrastructure disruptions
- Emergency humanitarian and outbreak responses
Examples of PFSCM's response include:
- Pakistan: Rapidly supplying HIV diagnostic products during a pediatric HIV outbreak linked to the reuse of needles and syringes.
- Nigeria: Coordinating stakeholders and implementing contingency plans when the transition to an electronic import duty exemption process in 2020 disrupted importation procedures and put critical shipments at risk.
- Tanzania: Working with supply chain stakeholders to redesign processes after an abrupt change in cargo clearance procedures stranded products and significantly increased demurrage and detention costs.
These experiences have strengthened PFSCM's approach to risk management and underscored the value of flexible logistics networks, diversified supplier bases, real-time operational visibility, and strong collaboration across the supply chain.
Looking ahead
As emerging infectious diseases continue to pose global threats, pandemic preparedness and health security will remain a critical priority for governments, donors, and health organizations worldwide.
Strong laboratories, surveillance systems, and healthcare workforces are essential, but they can only function effectively when supported by resilient supply chains that deliver the right products to the right places at the right time.
Through two decades of experience, operations spanning more than 100 countries, and a proven track record managing complex emergency procurements and logistics, PFSCM continues to help countries strengthen their ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from infectious disease threats.
