Using Price Intelligence to Understand the Supply Market and Drive Strategic Procurement for Health Products in Kaduna State

Understanding the supply market and having access to reliable pricing information are essential components of effective strategic procurement. In Kaduna State, Nigeria, a new Price Benchmarking Survey aims to strengthen the evidence available to procurement decision-makers and provide greater insight into the public and private health products market.

The Kaduna State Health Supplies Management Agency (KADHSMA), in collaboration with the Health Procurement Africa (HPA) programme, implemented by the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS), recently convened its Drug Revolving Fund (DRF) Price Intelligence Committee for a stakeholder engagement to launch the Kaduna State Price Benchmarking Survey for health products.

Representing the HPA programme during the engagement were Country Manager for Nigeria, Joseph Omokhapue; Procurement Expert, Mirabel Okafor; and Technical Specialist, Jimmy Aiden.

Building the foundation for effective price intelligence

The stakeholder engagement was designed to establish a strong foundation for the Price Benchmarking Survey and ensure that stakeholders were aligned on its objectives, methodology and implementation.

The key objectives were to:

✔️Secure institutional buy-in and leadership support for the Price Benchmarking Survey from KADHSMA management and stakeholders across the State.
✔️Understand and review the Terms of Reference of the Price Intelligence Committee and clarify members' roles in delivering the Committee's responsibilities and the upcoming survey.
✔️Present, review and agree the survey methodology, scope and sampling frame at both the upstream and downstream levels of the market.
✔️Review and finalise the basket of tracer commodities and the data collection instrument.
✔️Agree the survey itinerary, deployment of data collectors, workplan and timelines.

By bringing together key stakeholders at the outset, the engagement provided an opportunity not only to agree how the research would be undertaken, but also to build shared ownership of how the resulting intelligence can support future procurement decisions.

Engaging stakeholders across the health supply chain

Over two days, the HPA team held a technical engagement with the management team of KADHSMA, led by Director Health Supplies, Pharm. Nafisatu Abubakar, and Director Logistics & Operations, Pharm. Musa Murtala Muhammad.

During the engagement, the Agency reaffirmed its commitment to evidence-based pricing and directed alignment with the Price Intelligence Committee for the exercise.

Discussions were also held with representatives from professional bodies and relevant associations across Kaduna State, including the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN), Civil Society organisations, the State Logistics Management Coordinating Unit, and the In-State team.

Stakeholders welcomed the survey as an important opportunity to generate insights that can help inform and strengthen procurement decision-making.

From market data to procurement intelligence

The engagement culminated in a meeting between the State Price Intelligence Committee and the CIPS team, chaired by the Chairman of the Committee, Pharm. Musa Murtala Muhammad.

During the meeting, the Committee reviewed and adopted the proposed survey design.

The survey will examine a basket of 40 tracer essential medicines and health products across a range of priority health areas, including:

- Maternal and newborn health
- Malaria
- Child health
- Non-communicable diseases
- Anti-infectives
- High-volume infusions
- Diagnostics and laboratory reagents

Data will be collected across 40 sites in six Local Government Areas, drawn from Kaduna State's three senatorial zones.

This approach will provide insight into pricing and the wider supply-market landscape at both upstream and downstream levels. Building this evidence base is an important step towards enabling procurement teams to better understand their markets, benchmark prices and use data to support strategic procurement decisions.

Supporting evidence-based and value-for-money procurement

The Price Benchmarking Survey demonstrates the important role that price and market intelligence can play in strengthening health procurement.

Reliable market information allows procurement organisations to move beyond individual purchasing exercises and develop a broader understanding of market dynamics. This can support more informed sourcing decisions and help procurement teams identify opportunities to improve efficiency and achieve value for money.

For HPA, this work also highlights the importance of combining technical procurement expertise with local market knowledge and strong stakeholder collaboration. Establishing sustainable mechanisms for collecting, analysing and applying procurement data can help strengthen procurement capability while supporting better health supply outcomes.

What happens next?

Special appreciation goes to the Kaduna State Ministry of Health and the management of KADHSMA, led by Pharm. Aisha Isyaku Tukur, for their leadership, direction and support, as well as to the members of the Price Intelligence Committee for their commitment to the exercise.

Following the engagement, the next stage will include a planning meeting and training for the Committee on data collection, ahead of the survey fieldwork.

Through initiatives such as the Kaduna State Price Benchmarking Survey, Health Procurement Africa, CIPS and their partners are working together to promote a procurement ecosystem that is evidence-based and data-driven, understands both the public and private market landscape, and ultimately delivers greater value for money.