Additional LARC and total clients before and after May 2023, the point where TCI helped the district rectify its data management issue.
With a population exceeding 2.6 million, Korangi district in Pakistan is home to one of the country’s largest industrial zones. Primarily made up of urban slums, the district faces a high annual population growth rate of 3.29%. Korangi has long struggled with maintaining adequate stock levels of commodities for providing family planning services.
The Challenge Initiative (TCI) began supporting Korangi in September 2022, but early data revealed negative trends for additional clients for long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), as well as short-term and permanent methods. This raised concerns about stock availability at healthcare facilities. When TCI City Manager Amber Baloach reviewed the district’s data systems, she discovered a troubling discrepancy: although records indicated ample commodity supplies, facilities were still experiencing shortages, signaling a systemic issue.
Korangi relies on an electronic record management system known as CLR6, which automatically generates stock replenishment requests based on reported consumption. However, incomplete stock entries at the district level caused the system to produce inaccurate replenishment orders, leading to persistent shortages at healthcare facilities and limiting access to essential family planning services.
Baloach went to the District Health Officer and, together, they reviewed stock registers and data reporting mechanisms, ultimately identifying the root cause: the CLR6 system was not being updated correctly. Because the system’s requisition orders were based on reported consumption, incorrect data entries created a misleading picture of available stock. Baloach explained:
The commodities that facilities were supposed to receive were already limited. But what puzzled me more was the CLR6 system, which auto-generates requisition orders based on reported consumption. The numbers didn’t add up. The system showed large quantities of stock available, but the facilities were reporting low consumption.”
During subsequent site visits to multiple health facilities, she observed the same pattern: incorrect data entries inflated reported stock levels, resulting in fewer replenishment requests. Baloach escalated the matter to Dr. Ahsan Usman, District Health Information System Coordinator, Korangi, and Dr. Sadia Jamil, Deputy District Health Officer, Korangi. Together, they raised the issue with Mr. Faisal Zahir, Director of Communication, Training, Logistics and Supply for the Population Welfare Department (PWD) in Sindh.
Understanding the urgency, local government officials with TCI’s support set a plan in motion to address the issue through targeted capacity strengthening. TCI organized a series of training sessions focused on District Health Information System (DHIS) management and commodity tracking for health officials, data entry operators, and all personnel involved in commodity management. These efforts significantly improved data entry accuracy, leading to proper stock replenishment and improved availability.
Dr. Talib Lashari, Technical Advisor for the PWD’s Costed Implementation Plan in Sindh, praised the initiative, stating:
The TCI team successfully identified the data recording and reporting issues. Their capacity-building efforts for health staff have been remarkable, not only improving data management but also enhancing our understanding of community demand for commodities and the status of LARCs. Thanks to TCI, local government officials in eight priority districts have strengthened their capacity, ensuring that commodities are physically available at healthcare facilities.”
Through collaborative efforts, data-driven problem-solving, and targeted training, Korangi ultimately turned negative additional client trends to positive. Improved stock management and enhanced service delivery are now benefiting the communities that depend on these essential services in Korangi.
