Simplice Kamdem
Making the last mile count
Imagine not having access to water.
It’s hard … because water is so essential to our survival.
For Simplice Kamdem, reproductive health supplies fall into the same category: necessary for survival. A basic human right.
Growing up in Cameroon, Simplice saw firsthand the impact of not having access to RH supplies. One of 10 children, he lost one sister to complications from an unwanted pregnancy and a second to AIDS. His brother died before the age of five.
His personal story drove him to become the first member of his family to get a university degree, and to devote his life to ensuring that women across West Africa have access to the information and supplies they need to make informed choices for themselves and their families.
In this role, he tackles what he sees as one of the biggest challenges along the supply chain: “last-mile logistics,” or getting supplies into the hands of those who need them.
As the Senior Supply Chain Advisor for PEPFAR at USAID/Cote d'Ivoire, Simplice works with donors and stakeholders to ensure that life-saving anti-retrovirals are properly forecast, procured, and distributed. In this role, he tackles what he sees as one of the biggest challenges along the supply chain: “last-mile logistics,” or getting supplies into the hands of those who need them. A myriad of difficulties come into play, including inadequate resources, a lack of skills and accountability, and unreliable data. But an efficient supply chain, Simplice believes, is the key to delivering life-saving commodities to women and families all over the world, whether urban or rural, rich or poor.
Simplice’s career has taken him to 10 West African countries. His tireless commitment to reproductive health led to his winning a LAPTOP Scholarship from the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition, and in so doing, helped him to work towards a world where reproductive health supplies are available to everyone, everywhere.
The availability of safe, affordable supplies that meet men’s and women’s RH needs. Supply availability is possible only when products feed into the supply chain and make their way to the point-of-distribution, where women and men can access them.
Who’s Holding up Our Pillars?
This story is part of “Who’s Holding up Our Pillars?”, a Coalition effort to invite our heroes working in supply chains to tell their stories. Read their stories and see who they contribute to our vital, everyday work.