Contraceptive Supplies and Storage
Contraceptive commodity management ensures that every patient can receive the method they choose, safely and without interruption, by keeping products in good condition and in stock. A stock-out forces patients to take a less suitable method or none, and damaged or expired products are unsafe. This article covers receiving, storing, issuing, recording, ordering, and disposing of family planning commodities in a facility.
Scope. Pills, injectables (including self-injectable units), implants, IUDs, condoms, emergency contraception, insertion and removal kits, pregnancy tests and consumables, at facility, outreach and community levels.
Store requirements.
A secure, clean, well-ventilated room with limited access to authorised staff.
Temperature within the product label limits; most family planning products are kept at room temperature (15 to 30 degrees Celsius), away from direct sunlight, heat and moisture. Check the label of each product.
Products stored on pallets or shelves, off the floor and away from walls, protected from pests, water and temperature swings.
Condoms kept cool and dry, away from sunlight and sharp objects.
Emergency drugs, sterile consumables and instruments stored separately from contraceptives.
Staff responsibilities.
An authorised store manager receives, stores and issues commodities and keeps the records.
Providers record every issue to a patient in the daily register.
The in-charge verifies records, supervises and approves orders.
Records and tools.
- Delivery note, bin card (stock card) for each product, issue voucher, daily activity register, monthly consumption and requisition report, expiry and temperature logs, and a book for expired and damaged products.
Receiving.
An authorised person receives deliveries and checks them against the delivery note: destination, product name and strength, batch number, expiry date, quantity and condition.
Reject or record damaged, expired or short-dated items.
Sign and stamp the delivery note, send the copy as required, and enter the items on the bin card, adjusting balances.
Storing.
Arrange by product and batch, labels facing outward.
Use first expiry, first out: stock with the nearest expiry date is issued first.
Record temperature each day (and at the end of each day where a thermometer is available) and act when readings are out of range.
Count stock monthly and compare the physical count with the bin card; investigate differences.
Issuing.
Issue from the store to service points using an issue voucher.
At the service point, record each product given to each patient in the daily register: type, strength, quantity.
Reporting. Each month, summarise consumption, opening balance, receipts, issues, adjustments (losses, expiries, damage), closing balance and stock available into the consumption and requisition report. The report is dated, signed by the preparer, verified by the in-charge and sent to the supply chain level that supports the facility.
Ordering.
Calculate average monthly consumption from recent months.
Order quantity equals average monthly consumption multiplied by the number of months between deliveries, minus the stock at hand, plus a buffer of one month. For a quarterly cycle: average monthly consumption times 3, minus stock at hand, plus one month's consumption (equal to average monthly consumption times 4 minus the closing balance).
Place orders each cycle through the sub-national pharmacist, and arrange emergency resupply when stock falls under the buffer.
Stock status. Aim to hold between 1 month (minimum, the buffer) and 4 months (maximum) of average consumption for each product. Act when stock falls under minimum or exceeds maximum, including redistribution between facilities.
Expired and damaged commodities.
Count, separate and quarantine expired products at once.
Record name, batch number, expiry date and quantity in the expired products book.
Report on the losses column of the consumption report and notify the sub-national pharmacist.
Dispose through the authorised procedure; never issue expired stock.
Outreach and community. Pack products in clean, dry containers; record issues; return unused stock and records to the facility; arrange cold or heat protection during transport.
Quality indicators. Stock-out days for each method; proportion of patients unable to receive their chosen method; stock accuracy (physical count versus records); products expired; timeliness and completeness of reports; ordering on schedule.
Safety.
Never issue or use expired, damaged, discoloured or poorly labelled products.
Quarantine suspected defective batches and report them through the pharmacovigilance system.
Keep condoms, pills and injectables away from heat; do not use products that have been exposed to excessive heat or water.
Do not share or sell commodities; guard against theft.
Stock-out response.
Warn early when stock reaches the buffer level.
Offer an alternative effective method of the patient's choice, and condoms and emergency contraception as bridging methods.
Do not switch DMPA and norethisterone enanthate routinely; if unavoidable, switch at the time the next injection is due.
For patients on long-acting methods, ensure removal and replacement supplies are kept.
Request emergency resupply and borrow or redistribute stock from nearby facilities.
Escalation. Escalate stock-outs of any method for more than a week, repeated losses, discrepancies, quality defects, supply delays and storage failures (power loss, flooding, pests) to the facility in-charge, the sub-national pharmacist and county supply chain leads.
