The Impact of Supply Chain and Procurement Management on Healthcare Service Delivery in Nigeria: An Assessment of Procurement Efficiency, Medicine Availability, and Supply Chain Challenges

Abstract

The delivery of healthcare services in Nigeria is significantly driven by the procurement and supply chain management system as medicines, vaccines, laboratory commodities and other health supplies need to be delivered efficiently, at the right time, in the right quantity, and in the right quality and at minimum cost. This article reviews the influence of supply chain management and procurement on healthcare services delivery Nigeria with respect to procurement efficiency, stock availability, cost efficiency, logistics and supply chain bottlenecks. It does so by conducting a structured narrative literature review of 15 selected journal articles including procurement for health, pharmaceutical supply chains, medicines availability, logistics management, resource allocation, digital medicine tracking and healthcare performance. The review reveals that inefficient procurement system, low inventory management, stock-outs, overstocking, logistical bottlenecks, inefficient logistics management and poor supply chain visibility may hamper healthcare service delivery. It shows as well that effective procurement planning, inventory management, logistics management, resource allocation, digital health tracking and institutional coordination could enhance supply chain performance. Finally, the review suggests that good supply chains in Nigeria need to be linked to a comprehensive health system taking into consideration system end-to-end rather than on procurement alone and calls for enhancing procurement systems alongside inventory, logistics, technology, monitoring and institutional accountability.