POST 01164E : VACCINE STOCK MANAGEMENT

POST 01164E : VACCINE STOCK MANAGEMENT Follow-up on Post 01138E 30 September 2007 ____________________________________ The following contribution comes from Femi Odegbami from Nigeria ____________________________________ Dear Moderator and TechNet21 readers, I would like to thank to Dr Asfar and Dr Kartoglu for this important document. Naturally this publication took me back to 17 February 2006 TechNet21 posting 00889E in which I was questioning some definitions that appeared in the WHO web site. It is good to see that WHO finally agrees with the definitions I was defending in TechNet21 discussions. As underlined in Dr Kartoglu's message, vaccine stock management is bringing clarity to long debated terms and definitions. If you allow me, I would like to give the definitions once more here that "WHO is encouraging ALL TO ALIGN THEIR DEFINITIONS WITH THESE INTERNATIONALLY-RECOGNIZED PRINCIPLES AND TERMS": Minimum stock level The least amount of stock that programmes should have in stock or the level which, when reached, initiates a reorder; usually expressed as the number of months of supply. It is the amount of stock used between placing and receiving an order plus the safety stock. Also known as "reorder level". Safety stock The amount of stock (number of months' supply) below the minimum level which serves as a cushion or buffer against major fluctuations in vaccine demands or unexpected shipment delays. Many thanks again for the publication. Dr Femi ______________________________________________________________________________ All members of the TechNet21 e-Forum are invited to send comments on any posting or to use the forum to raise a new discussion or request technical information in relation to immunization services. The comments made in this forum are the sole responsibility of the writers and do not in any way mean that they are endorsed by any of the organizations and agencies to which the authors may belong. ______________________________________________________________________________ Visit the TECHNET21 Website at http://www.technet21.org You will find instructions to subscribe, a direct access to archives, links to reference documents and other features. ______________________________________________________________________________ To UNSUBSCRIBE, send a message to : [[email protected]][email protected][/email] Leave the subject area BLANK In the message body, write unsubscribe TECHNET21E ______________________________________________________________________________ The World Health Organization and UNICEF support TechNet21. The TechNet21 e-Forum is a communication/information tool for generation of ideas on how to improve immunization services. It is moderated by Claude Letarte and is hosted in cooperation with the Centre de coopération internationale en santé et développement, Québec, Canada (www.ccisd.org ______________________________________________________________________________