Manufacturing NTD medicines at various locations around the globe and coordinating delivery is certainly challenging. However, while delivering the NTD medicines to some of the most difficult-to-access places on earth is a clear challenge, there is great potential to overcome logisitical obstacles to maximize and effectively manage the supply chain. Significant leadership and collaboration by both public and private sector partners are needed to manage the logistical considerations of medicine distribution across a wide and diverse supply chain network to meet these ambitious 2020 goals. That’s why the NTD Supply Chain Forum (the “Forum”) was formed to meet this challenge. This unique coalition assures needed medicines make it the many miles from their point of manufacture to the endemic countries and eventually to the communities who need them.
The NTD Supply Chain Forum is a collaboration between six pharmaceutical companies, various NGOs, WHO, DHL and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. These parties are working together to improve the delivery of drugs and supplies to over 70 countries around the world affected by neglected tropical diseases.