Marking World Pharmacists Day

The goal of our Kore Sante project, funded by USAID, is to provide quality healthcare services to the Haitian population. Training, coaching, and monitoring are core components of the five-year project, now entering its third year. The project also supports partners by sourcing the medicines and medical supplies their clinics and hospitals need to deliver high-quality care.

This work has been especially challenging in recent years, due to Haiti’s ever-worsening humanitarian crisis. Violence in and around Port-au-Prince has periodically closed seaports and airports, preventing medical supplies from entering Haiti. And it is increasingly dangerous to transport anything from Port-au-Prince to the areas where we work in the south. In this harrowing context, the conference focused on “identifying adaptation strategies to the current challenges.”

As Guerline Laguerre Guillaume, a Ministry of Health (MSPP) representative, emphasized, “The work of pharmacists and pharmacy professionals is an essential element in the healthcare system. They actively participate in responding to health needs and play a vital role in the prevention and treatment of diseases.”

Samuel Louissaint, Kore Sante’s Supply Chain Manager, reviewed the project’s progress over the past two years: “We were able to assess the supply management systems of 30 out of the 31 sites that we support, and we also trained 66 stock managers on logistics management for supplies. In addition, we supply the sites with zinc, prenatal vitamins, family kits, essential medicines, WASH [water, sanitation, and hygiene] supplies, and more.”

“Together with our partner organizations, we have restructured storage locations… and followed up on their equipment needs in order to optimize the management of health supplies.

“Working jointly with USAID’s Global Health Supply Chain Program-Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) and the pharmacy services of the [department-level health authorities], we make regular adjustments to anticipate any shortages of stock,” he added.

Conference participants worked in small groups to identify common problems and potential solutions. They also discussed their role in the health system. Zephyr Josué, a government health authority pharmacist in Nippes, noted, “For us pharmacy professionals, the celebration of this day is an opportunity to increase the visibility of our profession.”

Kore Sante will continue supporting all of our partners and facilitating collaboration, because working together is the best strategy we have for surviving crisis conditions.