Effect of Supply Chain Vulnerabilities on the Availability of Essential Medicines in Rwanda: A Case Study of Rwanda Medical Supply Ltd
Aline Dukuze and Martin Gachukia
University of Kigali
https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7580-2162
Email: dukaline5@gmail.com
Abstract: The study investigated the effect of supply chain vulnerabilities on the availability of essential medicines at Rwanda Medical Supply Ltd (RMS). It focused on procurement and supplier reliability, logistics and distribution infrastructure, inventory and data management, and legal and regulatory compliance vulnerabilities. The inquiry was informed by Transaction Cost Economics, Supply Chain Risk Management Theory, Resource Dependence Theory, Systems Theory, Information Processing Theory, and Institutional Theory. A descriptive and correlational design guided the quantitative strand of the wider mixed-methods study. Using a census approach, 120 RMS employees were targeted and 112 usable questionnaires were returned, representing a 93% response rate. Data were analysed in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 25 using Pearson correlation, multiple regression, ANOVA, and hypothesis testing. The model explained 61.0% of the variation in medicine availability and was statistically significant (R = 0.781, R² = 0.610, F = 41.43, p = 0.000). Procurement and supplier reliability vulnerabilities had a significant negative effect (B = -0.318, t = -3.878, p = 0.000), followed by inventory and data management (B = -0.281, t = -3.557, p = 0.001), logistics and distribution infrastructure (B = -0.247, t = -3.338, p = 0.001), and legal and regulatory compliance vulnerabilities (B = -0.136, t = -2.030, p = 0.045). The study concluded that interconnected supply chain weaknesses reduce medicine availability and recommended supplier diversification, stronger logistics, improved inventory visibility and forecasting, and streamlined regulatory processes to strengthen continuous access to essential medicines nationwide.
