Across Sub-Saharan Africa, health systems face growing pressure to deliver more with less. The funding landscape is shifting, supply chains remain exposed to global disruptions, and the region continues to rely heavily on imported health products and health technologies.
In this context, procurement must evolve – not just as a cost-control function but as a strategic lever to build resilient markets, increase self-reliance, and enable access to lifesaving products.
At PFSCM, we believe that strategic procurement, driven by data, long-term thinking, and meaningful market insight, has the power to increase resilience and access to better health outcomes.
The question is: how?
The power of market assessment
The foundation of effective procurement is a deep understanding of the market landscape. This understanding transcends simple considerations like product price points and inventory levels; it encompasses a holistic view of demand, supply, financing, and regulatory conditions:
- Demand: A thorough analysis of disease burdens, treatment coverage gaps, urban-rural healthcare disparities, and patient preferences is essential.
- Supply: Identifying local and global manufacturers, mapping various tiers of supply, assessing production capabilities, understanding cost structures, and recognizing supply chain vulnerabilities are critical to informed decision-making.
- Financing: Analyzing funding sources, insurance coverage, and procurement mechanisms.
- Regulatory environment: Evaluating quality assurance systems, product registration timelines, and pricing policies.
To make this actionable, PFSCM leverages tools that provide clarity on where procurement risks lie and where interventions are needed to unlock access.
In addition to understanding demand, supply, financing, regulation, and procurement performance, product-level intelligence is a critical part of effective market shaping. At PFSCM, we recognize that products are not standalone items- they are part of broader health delivery solutions that must function together in context.
Products: Understanding what is being purchased, what is available on the market, and how products fit together is essential. This includes ensuring that related components-such as diagnostics and their controls, are sourced and delivered as compatible sets. PFSCM ensures that all products are vetted against appropriate standards and are fit for use in the environments where our clients operate. Our Product Information Management (PIM) function plays a vital role in maintaining structured, validated product data across systems. This enables better forecasting, easier product comparisons, and more efficient procurement planning, particularly in fast-changing or complex product categories like diagnostics.
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By managing product data and technical oversight together, PFSCM supports clients in navigating market complexity, responding to disruptions, and maintaining continuity of care.
From insight to strategy: our category management approach
At PFSCM, we leverage market insights to inform targeted procurement strategies through our structured category management approach. For each product category, we:
- Identify market and procurement challenges (e.g., supply concentration, regulatory delays, quality concerns).
- Define business requirements (e.g., reduce lead times, increase local sourcing, ensure supplier diversification).
- Design initiatives that align with strategic objectives such as risk mitigation, improved logistics, or cost optimization.
This approach is dynamic and iterative, refined over time to reflect shifts in market forces, stakeholder needs, and public health goals.
Market shaping in practice: responding to AMR
A critical area ripe for strategic procurement’s impact is antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Despite the increasing concern regarding AMR, diagnostic tools remain sparse due to limited commercial incentives.
At PFSCM, we have proactively developed a procurement solution to bridge this gap by curating a diagnostic portfolio, engaging suppliers, and facilitating access through streamlined processes.
PFSCM leverages purpose-built tools to facilitate access and in doing so, actively shapes the market. A key example is the HealthSupply Portal (HSP), PFSCM’s centralized digital platform that streamlines procurement for public health programs. The HSP features curated product catalogs organized by programmatic needs, which help guide demand toward vetted, quality-assured products while standardizing offerings to simplify supply planning and procurement. In addition to product visibility, the portal enables users to place orders directly, creating a seamless bridge between product selection and delivery.
In the AMR diagnostics category, PFSCM conducted a full market assessment, onboarded suitable suppliers, configured products within internal systems, and made them available through the HSP. This turnkey solution gives clients ready access to approved products -empowering them to procure what they need when they need it – while contributing to a more predictable, coordinated, and responsive diagnostics market.
Our interventions have enabled countries to access essential products used in AMR surveillance.
Antimicrobial susceptibility test
Strengthening regional resilience
With Africa importing between 70% and 90% of its health products.¹, supply chains are inherently vulnerable to delays, price surges, and shortages. Boosting local and regional manufacturing is crucial; however, this requires strategic procurement focused on values beyond just the lowest price.
Key levers include:
- Advance market commitments and volume guarantees to de-risk local production.
- Harmonized regulations to streamline supplier qualification and product registration.
- Digital procurement platforms for greater efficiency, transparency, and demand visibility.
- Smart supply chain tools (e.g., real-time inventory and AI-driven forecasting) to reduce waste and improve responsiveness.
These tools help create predictable, scalable, and investable markets, benefiting both governments and suppliers.
Overcoming systemic barriers
Despite progress, significant challenges remain. Fragmented initiatives often lead to market shaping that lacks national cohesion.
Also, weak regulatory frameworks can impede quality assurance and slow access to local products. Poor data sharing and trust issues hinder collaborative efforts across stakeholders.
To overcome these challenges, we must adopt a holistic approach, equipping national procurement agencies with the necessary tools, data, and frameworks to lead market-shaping initiatives effectively.
A call to action: leading through strategic procurement
- Strategic procurement has the power to redefine health system performance:
- Transitioning from cost-centric tenders to value-based partnerships.
- Evolving from fragmented efforts to integrated market solutions.
- Shifting focus from immediate transactions to sustainable system building.
At PFSCM, we are committed to advancing this vision. By investing in market assessments, data analytics, and category strategies, we aim to catalyze the development of resilient, efficient, and equitable health markets.
In an era marked by escalating health threats and tightening budgets, procurement must shift from being a back-office necessity to a frontline solution.
Let’s harness this potential wisely.
1:https://www.weforum.org/stories/2021/06/covid19-africa-drug-supply-health
