Covid continues in Guatemala, stronger than ever. As once again we found ourselves unable to travel, we worked hard to think of a way to provide aid in a more long-term and sustainable fashion. This year the Board decided to provide grants to two in-country Guatemalan non-profits. After a robust vetting process, we chose ALDEA and Salud y Paz as the recipients.
We also continued to provide disaster relief in the form of food and personal hygiene supplies.
ALDEA - Integrated Development Program
Please click on the PDF link to view the first quarter report on this project. ALDEA and ABPD have made substantial headway with this project despite the huge challenges that Covid presented.
Salud Y Paz - Pharmacy Inventory System
BRIEF PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Salud y Paz operates three clinics to provide comprehensive and accessible care to the under-resourced Mayan populations of El Quiche, Sololá and Quetzaltenango. We provide patients not only with a checkup, but also with access to labs, medications and education, because many impoverished Mayans living with chronic illness do not have the resources to purchase the medications they need to effectively manage their disease.
With this project, Salud y Paz aims to create an efficient and effective pharmaceutical supply process to benefit the chronically ill patients treated in these three clinics. In summary, we have defined the following project objectives and activities:
Upgrade our inventory system with view to meet set sustainable and appropriate technology specifications and improve integrity and efficiency in pharmaceutical data management.
Purchase requisite technology equipment and tools.
Develop standard operating procedure and training programs to build capacity among Guatemalan staff to effectively manage inventory.
Hire local talent.
Define metrics and data collection methods to monitor efficiency and effectiveness of process and to evaluate whether the project goal is being met.
PROGRESS REPORT
What has been accomplished to date?
We have hired an Inventory Technician (ongoing full-time position starting May, 2021) with base education in accounting and technology with potential for growth.
We have selected and installed the inventory system. Odoo is an inventory system that can be adapted to the current requirements of the organization. We also determined what modules to implement according to the process cycle, from the moment a medicine purchase order is placed to the delivery to the patient during their clinic visit.
We have retained a consultant who is overseeing the onboarding of the new inventory system.
Standardized data have been uploaded to the new system and relevant staff have received training.
The new inventory system is up and running.
Monitoring now in progress.
Policy and Procedures have been developed for staff use of technology equipment and expectations regarding use of Google Workspace
We have developed a training module for use in Google Workspace
NEXT STEPS:
● An android mobile device with data plan with an inbuilt barcode scanner equivalent to
the one we had quoted to purchase in the US is not available for purchase in Guatemala.
What is available, is a standard mobile device with data plan upon which we can install
an application that can scan barcodes. However, the limitation of scanning via the
application is that it won't automatically synchronize with the inventory database and
will therefore require manual actions to execute. Thus, the utility of the device for
working in the field is limited. Our staff is currently using a laptop with USB barcode
scanner using data via mobile hotspot when out in the field. We will evaluate the cost/benefit of an upgrade to this technology over the next quarter.
● We have not yet purchased label printers or barcode scanners as the ones we had been
using with the former system we have found to have been compatible with the new
system, thus, we prioritized the laptop purchases. That being said, we need to have
reserve equipment in inventory in the event of a malfunction. Now that we have
concluded laptop procurement, we will proceed with the acquisition of the scanners and
printers.