Swiss TPH Symposium: Reshaping Healthcare Supply Chains

The Winter Symposium focused on reshaping of healthcare supply chains with reflections on COVID-19. Photo credit: Messinis/Matternet - Strong and resilient supply chains ensure the provision of quality health products and vaccines to patients, making them a central component of health systems. At the virtual Swiss TPH Winter Symposium that took place on 1 December, experts from academia, public administration, international organisations and the private sector came together to discuss how we can achieve universal access to high quality, affordable medicines and vaccines. The availability of health commodities is vital for the achievement of universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals. At the Swiss TPH Winter Symposium that took place virtually on 1 December, participants came together to share experiences of supply chain management in challenging environments, showcase innovations for expanding the availability of health products and vaccines, and exchange on agile approaches for sustainable improvement of supply chains. "Health systems and supply chains are of the utmost importance to ensure that populations have access to essential services and in turn have positive health outcomes," said Kaspar Wyss, Deputy Director of Swiss TPH. "It was excellent that we could still come together virtually to discuss our diverse experiences from the perspective of the manufacturer, all the way to the patient." Access challenges at the interplay between supply and demand Participants reflected on the silver lining of the ongoing pandemic: "The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the global health supply chain to the top of everyone's agenda as they play a critical role in ensuring access to health commodities," said Alexis Strader from People that Deliver.