Assessing public-private procurement practices for medical commodities in Dar Es Salaam: a situation analysis.

Background: In Tanzania, the Medical Stores Department is the principal pharmaceutical provider to public health facilities throughout the country. However, growing demand from health facilities has proved difficult to satisfy and stock-outs at health facilities are frequent. The aim of the current study was to conduct a situation analysis of the procedures and practices of procuring medicines and medical supplies from private suppliers in the Dar es Salaam region when those commodities are unavailable at the Medical Stores Department.