Stocks & Stockouts

How can the VAN help countries resolve emergency stockouts?

For well over a decade, the RHSC has helped governments and other partners respond to stock crises that all too often can leave in their wake stockouts, overstocks, expiration, wastage, and ultimately, empty hands.

Over time, we have become better at our job. From scanning for signs of imminent stock issues to systematically tracking stock levels at central medical stores, we have successfully identified threats and reacted quickly. We’ve rushed deliveries, arranged product transfers, and driven new procurement. Altogether, it is estimated that our actions have generated more than $100M in cost savings and new product procurement.

What began life as the Countries at Risk (CAR) Group and subsequently evolved into the Coordinated Assistance for Reproductive Health (CARhs) Group has merged with the Coordinated Supply Planning (CSP) in a joint effort to combine both the hands-on skills required to address stockout emergencies with the expertise needed to prevent emergencies and align orders before they are ever shipped. Together, these functions form the new Consensus Planning Group (CPG) under the VAN.