A decade of supply chain impact in Nigeria.

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.

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.

ARC_ESM combined a desk review of the Strategy, the Blueprint, State baseline and DMA assessments and DMA activity reports with one-on-one consultations and a national stakeholder workshop involving NPSCMP, State Ministries of Health, NPHCDA, Principal Recipients (NACA and NMEP), NAFDAC and implementing partners including GHSC-PSM, UNFPA, CHAI, GIZ, MSH, CIPS and PICMA.

The review documented key achievements alongside the gaps, risks and lessons from implementation. It made recommendations to accelerate State maturity and sustainable financing for the second half of the Strategy, and set out the steps for developing the 2026–2030 Strategic Plan (final report, May 2023).

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.

ARC_ESM designed and governs the “Marriage PPP”, which links State Drug Management Agencies (DMAs) directly with local pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors, in partnership with the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN).

The model secures quality-assured medicines at negotiated, locked-in prices, on-time-in-full delivery and immediate withdrawal of substandard products, with credit facilities for States that lack capital to procure commodities. From a 2021 pilot with one State DMA and three manufacturers, it has grown to 14 DMAs and 32 private sector partners, and since 2025 has been fully funded by State governments and suppliers.

Responding to a call from State Health Commissioners to pool demand, ARC_ESM then led the design of the national Group Purchasing Framework (GPF) with PMG-MAN and the Health Commissioners Forum, informed by Arizona State University research showing price variations of up to 276% for the same essential medicines across States.

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.

As a sub-contractor to People that Deliver (PtD)/UNICEF on this USAID-funded project (2022, eight months), ARC_ESM supported NPSCMP to build government ownership and stakeholder consensus for professionalizing Nigeria’s health supply chain workforce (HR4SCM), a key priority of the National Strategy.

The process, including a national stakeholder workshop in August 2022, led to consensus on a national Project Plan and implementation roadmap for 2023–2025.

Following ARC’s advocacy, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency formally requested Gavi in November 2017 to implement STEP in Nigeria, and in 2018 ARC Nigeria (ARC_ESM’s predecessor) was engaged by Gavi, in collaboration with the IFPW Foundation, to deliver it.

STEP is a professional development programme for top-level public health supply chain leaders – strategy, policy and decision-makers in Ministries of Health and other ministries, such as Finance, with oversight of the supply chain – blending distance learning, instructor-led training and on-the-job mentorship. The Nigeria cohort brought together 37 supply chain leaders, including national leads and State Immunization and Cold Chain Officers.

ARC_ESM’s Center of Excellence (CoE), Private Sector Membership (PSM) and Expert Pool platforms were established with Gates Foundation funding and, since 2025, operate fully commercially, with companies, government agencies and professionals paying directly for their services – independent, market-based validation of their quality and relevance.