From Data to Impact: Strengthening Public Health Procurement in Kano State

Strong procurement systems are essential to ensuring that health facilities have timely access to safe, quality-assured medicines and medical consumables. Across Africa, improving procurement performance is increasingly recognised as a critical enabler of stronger health systems, better resource utilisation, and improved patient outcomes.

HPA had the privilege of leading the P5 Q3 Procurement Improvement Support Visit to the Kano State Drugs and Medical Consumables Supply Agency (DMCSA) under the CIPS Health Procurement Africa (HPA) Programme, funded by the Gates Foundation. The visit provided an opportunity to review progress, strengthen institutional capacity, and support the continued adoption of data-driven procurement practices within the Agency.

A Collaborative Start: Reviewing Progress and Setting Priorities

The visit commenced with participation in the DMCSA Q2 2026 Quarterly Review Meeting, chaired by the Honourable Commissioner for Health.

The meeting brought together government officials, heads of agencies, development partners, and other key stakeholders to review the Agency's performance over the past quarter. Participants reflected on achievements, discussed challenges, and agreed on strategic actions to further strengthen the State's Drug Revolving Fund (DRF) Scheme.

The review highlighted the importance of collaboration and shared accountability in ensuring that procurement and supply chain systems remain responsive, efficient, and sustainable.

Embedding Data-Driven Procurement Practices

A key focus of the support visit was helping DMCSA further integrate data into procurement planning, decision-making, and performance management.

Throughout the week, several interventions were undertaken to strengthen both procurement processes and institutional capability:

Category Market Positioning Assessment

Work continued on the Category Market Positioning Assessment, a strategic exercise designed to support more effective sourcing decisions and strengthen category management practices. By understanding supplier markets, procurement risks, and purchasing opportunities, the Agency can make more informed decisions that deliver greater value for money.

Strengthening Financial Oversight Through Data

The procurement team received coaching on the use of the Invoice Ageing Analysis Dashboard, a tool designed to improve visibility of supplier payments, outstanding liabilities, and the broader debt management framework.

Enhanced use of this dashboard enables the Agency to monitor payment performance more effectively, improve supplier relationships, and strengthen financial planning.

Enhancing Transparency and Accountability

Support was also provided for the capture and validation of supplier payment records. Accurate and reliable procurement data is fundamental to maintaining transparency, ensuring accountability, and supporting evidence-based decision-making.

Monitoring Supplier and Contract Performance

The team conducted a review of Q3 performance within the 2025/2026 tender cycle, assessing supplier delivery performance against established key performance indicators (KPIs), contract implementation progress, and overall procurement efficiency.

This process helps identify areas for improvement while ensuring that suppliers remain accountable for delivering the products and services required to support healthcare delivery across the state.

From Technical Support to Institutional Ownership

One of the most encouraging outcomes of the visit was witnessing DMCSA's growing ownership of the procurement performance tools introduced through the programme.

What initially began as technical support has evolved into genuine institutional adoption. Agency leadership and management teams are increasingly using procurement data to guide strategic decisions, monitor supplier performance, track key metrics, and drive operational improvements.

This shift represents a significant step towards long-term sustainability. The true measure of success is not simply the introduction of tools and processes, but the extent to which organisations embed them into everyday practice.

Building a Culture of Continuous Improvement

Procurement excellence is not achieved through systems alone. It is built through strong leadership, capable people, reliable data, effective processes, and a culture that embraces continuous improvement.

The progress observed at DMCSA demonstrates what is possible when these elements come together with a shared commitment to strengthening public health procurement.

Recognising Leadership and Commitment

We extend our sincere appreciation to the Honourable Commissioner for Health, Dr Abubakar Yusuf, for his strong and consistent leadership.

We are equally grateful to the Director General of DMCSA, Pharm. Gali Sule; the Technical Adviser to DMCSA, Pharm. Tukur Ibrahim; the Director of Drugs and Supply, Pharm. Salisu Hashim Muhammad; the Head of Drugs, Pharm. Safiyah Shehu; and the Inventory Pharmacist, Pharm. Aminu Muhammad for their invaluable support, commitment, and contributions throughout this initiative.

Looking Ahead

The continued strengthening of procurement systems is vital to improving the availability, accessibility, and affordability of quality-assured health products for the people of Kano State.

By combining data-driven decision-making, strategic partnerships, leadership commitment, and continuous improvement, we are helping build more resilient and sustainable procurement systems that deliver lasting impact for public health.

Together, we continue to transform procurement performance into better health outcomes.