Senselet | ሰንሰለት means ‘chain’ in Amharic: a series of things depending on each other as if linked together.
The aim of the Senselet project is to enhance and strengthen the capacities of people working within healthcare supply chain management (HSCM) for essential non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Ethiopia.
Over three years, the project will build competencies in collaboration with local academic partners and identify areas for improvement to ensure access to care for patients in areas marked by humanitarian crises and disasters.
The partnership is based on a collaboration model between public and private partners and supports strategic objectives set out by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Ethiopian Pharmaceuticals Supply Service (EPSS).
Jump to: Project vision | The challenge | Project objectives
Project vision
To establish a Healthcare Supply Chain educational programme that will sustainably improve existing structures and ensure a continuous and equitable supply of medicine to patients living with non-communicable diseases in Ethiopia.
The challenge
Ethiopia has made significant investments in health, and the population now has near-universal access to basic healthcare. However, several challenges persist. Inefficiencies in healthcare supply chains are causing delays, shortages and an increased cost of medical supplies, complicating effective care and aggravating the disease burden as health complications develop.
Efficient healthcare supply chain management requires specialist training and know-how, which are not always available in low- and middle-income countries like Ethiopia. This is a crucial task to be resolved to improve the health and well-being of the people of Ethiopia, not least those living in rural areas and people affected by humanitarian crises.
Project objectives
Improving the functioning of the Healthcare Supply Chain Management (HSCM) has been identified as a critical contributor to improving the health and well-being of the people of Ethiopia. The Senselet project focuses on three primary interventions:
- Enhance academic capacity by establishing a long-term supply of HSCM specialists with master’s and PhD programmes at Addis Ababa University and providing mentorship and training opportunities for academic staff.
- Enhance institutional capacity through the Continuous Professional Development programme (CPD) for the HSCM workforce.
- Enhance humanitarian response capacity by strengthening the capacity of humanitarian actors and supply chain staff, in general, to handle pharmaceutical supply chains through technical and vocational training and through ‘flagship’ subprojects addressing specific key challenges.
Meet Saron – a master student from Addis Ababa University (AAU), who wants to bring change to the Ethiopian healthcare system.
Together with many other students, Saron is enrolled in the healthcare supply chain management master’s programme at AAU, supported by the Senselet project.
Patients living in Ethiopia with chronic diseases rely deeply on the medicines provided through healthcare supply chains. Improving healthcare services and ensuring an uninterrupted supply of medicines requires competencies and well-equipped professionals – especially in complex areas marked by humanitarian crises and disasters. Through the Senselet project we hope to support students like Saron in making a difference for Ethiopian patients living with chronic diseases.
The Senselet project is based on a partnership between the Addis Ababa University (AAU), the Kühne Foundation, the Geneva Centre of Humanitarian Studies, Novo Nordisk A/S, the World Diabetes Foundation, and their additional network of dedicated humanitarian stakeholders, NGOs and representatives from the Ministry of Health (MoH), the Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply Service (EPSS) and the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI).
The project is based on the vision that, once completed and implemented, Addis Ababa University and other national training providers will run the educational programmes. These programmes will continue to sustainably qualify and upskill the national workforce and continuously improve HSCM in Ethiopia.
- Addis Ababa University (AAU) – AAU is Ethiopia’s leading centre in teaching-learning, research, and community services.
- Geneva Centre of Humanitarian Studies – an internationally renowned joint centre of the University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute. Their mandate is to develop research and teaching related to humanitarian crises.
- World Diabetes Foundation (WDF) – a leading global funder of diabetes prevention and care projects in low- and middle-income countries.
- Kühne Foundation (KF) and its local partner NGO the Elias Melake Foundation, support logistics, global trade, medicine, and cultural projects. The Kühne Logistics University (KLU) was established over ten years ago to develop logistics and supply chain management expertise (LSCM).
- Novo Nordisk – For almost 100 years, Novo Nordisk has been driving innovation to meet the unmet medical needs of people living with diabetes or other serious chronic diseases. Today, the company’s treatments benefit millions of people living with diabetes, obesity, and rare blood and endocrine diseases.
Discover what the project partners have to say about the project.
Geneva Centre of Humanitarian Studies
Professor Karl Blanchet
Director
Rosemary James
Scientific Collaborator
Addis Ababa University
Professor Teferi Gedif Fenta
Professor at the School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences
Dawit Teshome Gebregiorgis
Lecturer
Dr. Bruck Messele Habte
Assistant Professor
Zelealem Tilahun Mekonnen
Assistant Professor
Novo Nordisk
Jane Rasmussen
Vice President
Jette Rune Jørgensen
Senior Project Manager
Louise Stanton
Project Assistant
World Diabetes Foundation
Bent Lautrup-Nielsen
Head of Global Development and Advocacy
Kühne Foundation
Andre Kreie
Director of Global Logistics Education
Wolf-Christian Noske
Global Content Manager
Geneva School of Business Administration
Professor Cheikhrouhou Naoufel
Supply Chain, Logistics and Operations Management
Diego Vanegas
Researcher and Assistant
For more information about Senselet go to:
In April 2024, the Senselet team convened in Addis Ababa, hosted by Addis Ababa University’s School of Pharmacy, for their second annual in-person meeting to discuss progress and next steps, as well as outlining a long-term vision for Senselet. They met with a variety of project beneficiaries and collaborators, including the Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply Service (EPSS), Kenema and Ethiopian Red Cross pharmacies, and hospitals.