PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Bobo, Patricia
AU  - Bray, George
AU  - Etter, Kevin
AU  - Singh, Namrata
TI  - Strategic Training Executive Program 2.0: A Leadership and Change Management Program for Health Supply Chains in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
AID  - 10.9745/GHSP-D-23-00365
DP  - 2025 May 09
TA  - Global Health: Science and Practice
PG  - e2300365
VI  - 13
IP  - Supplement 1
4099  - http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/13/Supplement_1/e2300365.short
4100  - http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/13/Supplement_1/e2300365.full
SO  - GLOB HEALTH SCI PRACT2025 May 09; 13
AB  - Key MessagesOptimizing leadership competencies of supply chain management (SCM) leaders in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) ultimately contributes to enhanced commodity and medicine availability with improved health outcomes.The Strategic Training Executive Program (STEP) was developed as a capacity-building program to address supply chain operations challenges in LMICs, including lack of formal training of the supply chain management (SCM) workforce and inadequate leadership approaches, and help strengthen the SCM workforce by increasing SCM competencies.The program was revised to STEP 2.0, which emphasized a collaborative problem-solving methodology, engaged private-sector coaches, and expanded partnerships with other donors and implementing partners.Step 2.0 has been successfully implemented in Ethiopia to apply collaborative problem-solving and team leadership concepts in last-mile delivery interventions and territory expansion, in Zambia to help upgrade a logistics management information system to enable health districts to extend their initial system training to health centers within their districts, and in Rwanda to facilitate the use of multisectorial, cross-functional collaborative teams at each phase of the innovative medical drone program.People that Deliver’s vision is “a world where health supply chain workforces are empowered and equipped to optimize health outcomes by improving access to health commodities.” However, health supply chain management (HSCM) is not a recognized profession in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). HSCM professionalization efforts are essential if health outcomes are to be significantly improved in these countries; this means transforming supply chain management into a recognized profession of the highest integrity.The Strategic Training Executive Program (STEP) was created in 2016 to address prevailing leadership style gaps. Since then, STEP has undergone rigorous revisions to improve its applicability, scalability, and usefulness in LMICs. To date, STEP—in all its forms—has been delivered to 30 countries and contributed to building the supply chain capacities of more than 600 health supply chain professionals.This case study discusses the evolution journey of designing and sustaining the second generation of STEP (STEP 2.0). This journey is an innovative illustration of how diverse yet motivated organizations collaborated during a global lockdown and health emergency to reimagine a program recognized by all as essential for post-pandemic supply chain systems.