National Supply Chain Integration

State DMAs

Up from 6 in 2020

MRTI States

National target was 3

States adopting

The National Strategy

Assessors

NPSCMP, certified

From strategy to blueprint

ARC_ESM was part of the multi-partner team that supported the Federal Ministry of Health to develop the National Health Supply Chain Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021–2025.

Following its launch, and through our investment partnership with the Gates Foundation, ARC_ESM was the sole partner that supported the National Product Supply Chain Management Programme (NPSCMP) to develop the National Supply Chain Strategy Blueprint (2021–2025): the framework for implementing the Strategy at Federal and State levels.

The Blueprint sets out the strategic objectives and policy frameworks required at each level, and defines a maturity pathway for State Drug Management Agencies (DMAs), from Rudimentary through Emerging and Maturing to a Matured DMA able to integrate all public health programme supply chains with the essential medicines programme.

ARC_ESM moved beyond developing the document to working with NPSCMP to roll out its implementation across States, with the establishment of State DMAs as a key deliverable of the Strategy. The number of DMAs in Nigeria has grown from 6 in 2020 to 26 today, strengthening State ownership and a more sustainable supply of medicines and health products in pursuit of Universal Health Coverage.

The DMA maturity pathway

Five levels defined by the Blueprint

01
Level 1
Rudimentary
02
Level 2
Emerging
03
Level 3
Maturing · Not Ready to Integrate
04
Level 4
Maturing · Ready to Integrate
05
Level 5
Matured

An independent midterm review

Having supported the development of the Blueprint, ARC_ESM was engaged by The Global Fund to step back and provide an independent midterm review of how the country was implementing the National Health Product Supply Chain Strategy and Implementation Plan (NHPSCSP) 2021–2025.

The review assessed performance as at January 2023 against the Strategy’s Monitoring and Evaluation framework across all four pillars – NPSCMP Optimization, Increasing State Ownership and Capacity, Integration of Supply Chains, and Optimizing Supply Chain Functions – at both National and State levels.

NPSCMP Optimization

Strengthening the national programme that coordinates health product supply chains.

Increasing State Ownership and Capacity

States leading and financing their own supply chains through DMAs.

Integration of Supply Chains

Bringing public health programme supply chains together with essential medicines.

Optimizing Supply Chain Functions

Improving forecasting, procurement, warehousing, distribution and data.

The review documented key achievements – support to 19 States to adopt the Strategy, National Council on Health approval of DMAs in 2022, and legal backing in 13 States to transform Drug Revolving Funds into DMAs – and set out the steps towards the 2026–2030 Strategic Plan. Read the full review summary.

Results across eleven States

Adoption of the Strategy was only the first step. Through our Gates Foundation investment (2021–2026), ARC_ESM supported eleven States – Kano, Yobe, Kaduna, Lagos, Niger, Nasarawa, Sokoto, Bauchi, Gombe, Borno and Ekiti – to implement the Blueprint and progress along the five-level national maturity pathway towards a Matured, integrated supply chain.

Applying our Thought Leadership, Advisory and Brokering model, we supported States to complete maturity assessments, develop Commissioner-endorsed supply chain workplans, enact DMA legislation, establish dedicated supply chain teams and adopt public-private partnership (PPP) financing models. By December 2024, all eleven States had completed every tracked sustainability milestone.

Health facility coverage

States supported by ARC_ESM

Kaduna

Kano

Borno

Yobe

Bauchi

Nasarawa and Kano

Before and after implementing the Blueprint

BeforeAfter

Nasarawa · stock-out rateLower is better
Nasarawa · delivery lead timeLower is better
Kano · Drug Revolving Fund

◆Four States – Kaduna, Kano, Nasarawa and Yobe – independently classified by NPSCMP as Maturing Ready to Integrate (MRTI), assessed against 152 governance, strategy and operations criteria, exceeding the FMoH target of at least three States achieving MRTI by 2025. Bauchi reached Maturing Not Ready to Integrate, and Yobe sustained its MRTI status without further project support.

◆Kaduna progressed from Emerging (42%) to MRTI and became the first State in Nigeria to reach 100% health facility coverage.

◆Nasarawa reduced stock-out rates from 40.5% to 7% and delivery lead time from 13.2 to 3 days; Kano’s Drug Revolving Fund moved from a ₦102 million deficit to a ₦276 million surplus.

◆Approximately US$6.8 million in public and private financing mobilised and 130+ supply chain officers certified.

◆Independent stakeholder surveys (136 respondents across Kaduna, Kano and Lagos) recorded 86–92% satisfaction with the programme.

How we work with government

Maturity assessment

Assess the State Drug Management Agency against national governance, strategy and operations criteria.

Commissioner-endorsed workplan

Co-design a costed, evidence-based supply chain workplan the State owns.

DMA legislation

Support the legal backing that turns a Drug Revolving Fund into a DMA.

Dedicated supply chain team

Set up and coach the State team that will run the plan.

PPP financing

Broker public-private partnerships and financing that keep commodities flowing.

Equipping NPSCMP to lead

Through The Global Fund’s Resilient and Sustainable Systems for Health (RSSH-3/C19RM) grant (2025–2026), with NACA as Principal Recipient, ARC_ESM transferred its State engagement methodology – first developed through Gates Foundation-funded work in six States and later scaled through USAID-funded engagements in twelve – to NPSCMP, equipping the Programme to assess, advise and support States directly, without external technical assistance.

Using a seven-phase capacity transfer model piloted in Abia, Ekiti and Plateau States, the project delivered all approved outputs and exceeded several targets.

◆Automated national maturity assessment tool: the DMA Assessment Tool was standardized into 129 criteria across governance, strategy and operations, with an electronic Field Scoring Workbook that automates domain scoring, an assessment manual and an assessor certification system. Fourteen NPSCMP assessors were certified at a 100% pass rate.

◆NPSCMP repositioned as a thought leadership and advisory institution: 30 personnel trained in thought leadership and 22 in ARC_ESM’s 12-step advisory methodology. NPSCMP’s National Coordinator led advocacy visits to all three States, each of which formally adopted the Blueprint.

◆States supported from assessment to implementation: maturity assessments and costed, evidence-based workplans completed in all three States (against targets of one and two), with NPSCMP focal persons progressively leading implementation support. Abia State committed ₦200 million in DMA take-off funding and Plateau State released initial funds.

◆A replicable model for national scale-up: NPSCMP independently facilitated sessions at Nigeria’s first State Supply Chain Benchmarking and Learning Forum (June 2026), providing a proven model for NPSCMP-led expansion to the remaining 33 States.

Next: the National Supply Chain Integration Architecture

In September 2026 ARC_ESM announced a landmark engagement: the finalisation, operationalisation and institutionalisation of Nigeria's National Supply Chain Integration Architecture, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. As a foundational step, CEO Azuka Okeke and team paid a courtesy visit to the Ministry.

◆A single national architecture that public and donor-funded programmes plug into

◆Shared data standards for stock visibility from central stores to facilities

◆Pooled distribution to cut duplicated warehouses and half-empty trucks

◆Clear governance and roles for federal, state and partner actors

Pooled distribution

In Nigeria, a significant share of the cost of essential goods builds up after they leave the manufacturer's or importer's bay – through half-empty trucks, duplicated warehouses and parallel delivery networks serving the same markets and facilities. ARC_ESM's strategic partnership talks with DP World's teams from South Africa and the Netherlands aim to move pooled distribution from ideas to action.

Case study: No More Empty Shelves, Kaduna

With the Kaduna State Government and the Gates Foundation, ARC_ESM designed and implemented a new distribution strategy that gets the right medicines to primary health centres, in the right quantities and on time. Kaduna progressed from Emerging (42%) to Maturing Ready to Integrate, became the first State in Nigeria to reach 100% health facility coverage, and eliminated oxytocin stock-outs across 71 primary health care facilities.

Empty shelves in public clinics do not have to be the norm.

Questions · Answered

Integration · common questions.

Talk to us Full track record

One integrated supply chain for Nigeria's public health system.