In July 2018, PFSCM attended the esteemed 22nd International Aids Conference in Amsterdam. PFSCM had more than 10 staff members participating in the conference in various capacities.
From our management team PFSCM Global Supply Chain and Project Director Wesley Kreft, Head of Client Account Management Cristina Chiga, Business Development Manager Clinton de Souza, Head of Supply Chain Operations Floris van Tol, Procurement Manager Marcel van Vaalen and Senior Supply Chain Advisor Gordon Comstock attended key sessions and networked with organizations and individuals in the HIV/AIDS and supply chain fields.
Lessons learned and key take-aways from conference include:
- There should be a focus on re-energizing the fight against AIDS. Too many messages stating “the end of AIDS is in sight” is impacting on global urgency.
- PEPFAR Ambassador-at-Large, Deborah Birx talked about complacency, maturing epidemics and voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC).
- Global Fund Executive Director, Peter Sands, stressed that we will not end AIDS epidemic without Universal Health Coverage platform – 27% funding goes into building health systems.
- We must treat chronic conditions of HIV/AIDS patients to prevent death by non-communicable diseases and co-morbidity.
- 98% of health facilities in Rwanda provide full package of coverage and have attained 88|94|91 coverage.
- USAID Senior Global Health Advisor, David Stanton reiterated USAID Administrator Mark Green’s goals: self-reliance, building capacity in local partners and innovation.
- Men who do not access the health system and refuse testing threaten the end of AIDS.
- U=U or Undetectable = Untransmittable.
- The debate of Dolutegravir safety during pregnancy.
- Manufacturing capacity or ARVs is not a concern: Eight to ten of the companies have the capacity to produce five times the requirement, or one billion tablets per month (all tablets).
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Director and Handa Professor of Global Health, Peter Piot, expressed concern that refugees as a key population are not receiving enough attention.
Procurement best practices workshop
Wesley Kreft and Clinton de Souza hosted a focused workshop during the conference. The topic of the workshop was the importance of proper HIV/AIDS commodities procurement and the outsourced procurement tools that make it possible. PFSCM also demonstrated how our new Control Tower platform aids in ensuring best-value and best-quality sourcing is maintained.
The workshop was a great success with influential local and international delegations attending the event.
Building the PFSCM brand through our booth
Further, PFSCM also had a 9 square meter booth during the event. We are pleased to report that we received many visitors from various fields and specializations such as doctors, students, members of government, procurement, logistics and supply chain experts and more. PFSCM reconnected with alumni; old friends and colleagues, and also made many new invaluable connections with individuals and organizations from all over the world – all with an interest and drive to fight HIV/AIDS at various levels.
PFSCM has been in the public health space for more than a decade and the event was a fitting opportunity for us to again showcase our expertise and relevance in the field.
From visitor feedback it is evident that through our past work for the US government’s Supply Chain Management System project, and our current work for the Global Fund, the DREAMS initiative, New Horizons and many other direct projects, we have left and are leaving positive and memorable impressions in the industry.
