In recent years, pooled procurement has become a trend. Various models have been applied including regional pooled procurement, for instance in the Eastern Caribbean States and global pooled procurement, for example Global Fund’s Voluntary Pooled Procurement (VVP). What is the role of pooling demands? How does it affect product availability and access to essential medicines in developing countries? Major steps have been set towards pooled procurement. But is this always beneficial to the patients needing essential medicines? Could one also see trends that it leads to a limitation of availability or even reduction of available medication? Did we move from improved quality assurance conditions to market limitation, and possibly market protection? What effect does pooled procurement have?

I think we could see pooled procurement from economies of scale in tendering point of view. Definitely, it will attract many suppliers to participate in the tenders and achieve reduced product costs. So, reliable and capacitated suppliers could provide the product with lowest prices and reasonable lead time. In low-income countries, drug expenditure is one of the major spending in relation to the national health budget. Most of the countries in Africa do not have sufficient funds allocated for the procurement of medicines and related supplies.
In addition, it helps to use the available meager resources effectively such as the qualified procurement staff, tendering process, the QA and clearance cost, warehousing and the distribution charges. It avoids duplication of efforts and has an advantage to comply with national essential drug lists.
Therefore, effective pooled medicines procurement system would help to ensure the availability of the needed drug products in appropriate quantities, of good quality, at the lowest cost possible, and at the right time within a limited budget in Africa where resources are very limited.

Procurement and LMIS:

How could procurement best use of the different LMIS formats used for data capturing and reporting in Malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS national programs?

How do we make sure that the data reported are genuine and are considering dispensed to the users at SDP levels? How often decision makers use these data for quantification and efficient procurement at central level?