Medical Supply Chains in a Refugee Camp

Forcibly displaced communities are housed in some of the most fragile health systems with inadequate capacity to diagnose, manage and treat life-threatening illnesses. Supply of essential items, including quality-assured medicines, has been difficult to maintain in refugee settlements. Consequences of this include disrupted treatments and driving patients to unauthorized sellers which may sell poor quality medicines. Specifically, this project aims to study the supply chain of antibiotics in refugee settlements. This includes how antibiotics are procured and distributed, including in emergency situations and what happens when there are new emergencies or new outbreaks of drug resistant infections. This project aims investigate the potential health consequences of inadequate or irrational antibiotic supply and current procurement strategies. We have chosen antibiotics as they are essential and life-saving medicines, and misuse can drive antimicrobial resistance. This project analyzes available data from international humanitarian organizations and governments on supply and procurement, as well as partners with local health professionals to analyze epidemiological data and current treatment guidelines in a changing political and natural climate. Procurement and supply of medicines for displaced populations is complex, with environments and situations constantly evolving. This project seeks to rigorously map the antibiotic supply chain in refugee settlements and identify specific interventions to ensure supply of quality antibiotics, reduce irrational antibiotic consumption and ultimately identify strategies to reduce the threat of outbreaks of multi-drug resistant infections. 

News and Publications: 

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  • Forthcoming book: Muhammad H. Zaman. Access Denied: Healthcare and the forcibly displaced. Johns Hopkins University Press. To appear Spring 2023.
  • Forthcoming book: Muhammad H. Zaman. Dying by the roadside: Refugee health and statecraft in the new state of Pakistan. (Under contract, Johns Hopkins Press).
  • Peer-review article: Rana Hussein, Mark Suprenant, Najwa Al-Dheeb, Saul Guerrero, Elaine Rogers, Fouzia Shafique, Meredith Dyson and Muhammad H. Zaman. A mathematical Model to Estimate the Incidence of Child Wasting in Yemen. Confl Health15, 62 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13031-021-00400-6
  • Peer-review article: Mark Suprenant, Anuraag Gopaluni, Meredith K. Dyson, Najwa Al Dheeb, Fouzia Shafique and Muhammad H. Zaman. A predictive model for healthcare coverage in Yemen. Conflict and Health, 14 (1), 1-16. 2020. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13031-020-00300-1
  • Peer-review article: Devika Nadkarni, Hala Ghattas, Imad Elhajj, Zaher Dawy and Muhammad H. Zaman. Examining the need & potential for biomedical engineering to strengthen health care delivery for displaced populations & victims of conflict. Conflict and Health. 201711:20. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13031-017-0122-0