Major achievements at Tonga Central Pharmacy and Medical Supplies warehouses

In early 2024 the Tonga Pharmacy and Medical Facility (TPMF) warehouse opened in Veitongo, Tongatapu. The warehouse has provided much needed additional suitable storage space for drugs and pharmacy items needed by Tonga’s public health service, hospitals and health centers.

Tonga is a Polynesian country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean consisting of approximately 170 islands, of which 36 are inhabited, with a population of around 107,000 people.The country’s health system includes central hospitals, peripheral health centers and community-based services.Key health challenges facing Tonga include rising rates of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease and cancer, while communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, and vaccine-preventable diseases persist.

Prior to the new warehouse opening, all of the national-level medicines and medical supplies were stored in the Central Pharmacy and Medical Supplies (CPMS) unit office in Nuku’alofa which was converted from Tonga’s original old hospital. This old site was overcrowded, difficult to access, and not a fit-for-purpose national storage facility. The new TPMF warehouse has allowed for storage layout improvements, proper stock management processes and a full, accurate stock take to be completed.

With the support of BES, Warehouse Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) were developed and adopted in late 2024 and mSupply has been implemented throughout the warehouse. Now, in late 2025, the dedication and hard work by the CPMS staff is generating significant results.

In 2024 weekly cycle-count spot checks were commenced to routinely audit that the stock on hand quantities in storage matched the records in mSupply, the electronic logistics information management system used by CPMS. In 2024 the accuracy rate of the random spot checks was regularly between 20-60%. By late 2025, after implementing annual and quarterly stock takes, the average accuracy rate of random spot check has reached 90%. With dedicated storages spaces for medicines and medical supplies there is more room for logical storage layout planning and easier maneuverability for staff to pick orders and regularly stock take items.

The facility is also safer, and cleaner with stock now stored on proper steel shelving, improving efficiency as well as staff welfare. The use of forklifts and other warehouse aids reduces the risk of physical injury or accident.

Knowing that the stock on hand data is accurate has been essential for determining how much to order in future. mSupply, the electronic logistics information management system used by CPMS, generates suggested order quantity data that is now more accurate and reliable. The increased trust in the stock management data from mSupply has led to improved ordering of medicines and medical supplies and reduced under and over ordering items, further helping to efficiently manage the storage spaces.

At the same time, medical item availability has consistently been above 90% at the central warehouses and in fact has averaged close to 95% throughout 2025, based on an indicator item list which has been set for measurement.

Fehi Tu’iha’angana, a Pharmacist at CPMS, says the new warehouse SOPs that detail processes for purchase order management, goods receiving, managing expires, monthly reporting and other processes …“are really useful for having specific written processes to go back to refer to and follow. The flow diagrams are particularly helpful.”

The CPMS Stock Control Coordinator, Sesi Lea’aetoa, acknowledges the new warehouse SOPs have also helped define staff specific duties and roles: “It helps us with teamwork and directs co-workers to have a hand in doing all the work,” she says.

Beyond Essential Systems (BES) and The mSupply Foundation (TMF) under the DTAC initiative supported by the New Zealand Ministry of Health Polynesian Health Corridors program have supported Tonga’s CPMS unit every step of the way to achieve these outcomes. For example, BES have provided training on operationalizing the warehouse SOPs and TMF have helped create tailored data reporting dashboards that allow the easy tracking of key supply chain performance indicators.

BES and TMF are pleased that the New Zealand Ministry of Health Polynesian Health Corridors program has extended funding to continue to provide tailored support to Tonga until June 2027.

The achievements of Tonga’s CPMS unit in warehousing and stock management for drugs and medical supplies illustrate that tailored supply chain support combined with dedicated staff can create tangible differences and significant improvements over time, saving money, improving medicines availability and using data to inform decision making. These differences need multi-facted support however, combining digital tools, physical storage infrastructure, policy & processes, and – most importantly – highly engaged and effective staff. In Tonga, we are lucky to be working now with all four!