Procurement Support Services to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine

Procurement Support Services to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine

Project Summary

In 2015, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine reached out to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine and other international partners (including UNICEF and Crown Agents), to request support with the procurement of medicines. According to the agreement signed between the Ministry and UNDP, Ukraine procured medicines through international organizations, including UNDP, as an interim measure until 2020. In 2019, Parliament of Ukraine prolonged the action of the law that allows procuring the medicines and medical devices through international organizations until 2022. The new agreement with MOH for the provision of procurement support services for the 2020 budget year was signed in November 2020.   In the meantime, the state-owned enterprise ‘Medical Procurement of Ukraine’, which will eventually become the central procurement agency, develops its procurement capacity and inherits best world practice from UNDP.

The high requirements and standards that UNDP establishes for its tenders means that the medicines procured are of exceptional quality and effectiveness, as unscrupulous producers cannot participate in the process.

The community of patients is one of the driving forces behind the health reform implementation, and simultaneously a beneficiary of changes in the health care system. The voice of patients should be heard in Ukraine: this is why, since 2017, UNDP has been providing low-value grants to patients’ organizations to allow them to monitor the availability and use of medicines procured. This means that patients can now directly participate in monitoring the procurement process and thus improve it. During the last three years the number of participants, disease areas and regions covered during the monitoring has increased. Starting with 2 nosologies and 4 regions in 2017, in 2019 the monitoring of medicines covered 13 nosologies in 11 regions of Ukraine. In 2020 6 NGO analysed the availability of medicines in 17 regions of Ukraine and the city of Kyiv. As a result of the implementation of the low-value grants programme in 2017 and 2018, UNDP presented the Public Monitoring Guidelines “Delivery, Availability and Use of Medicines at the Local Level”.

In 2016, UNDP, along with the patients’ community, has developed the “E-Liky” system, which enables patients to check the availability of medicines in 23 oblasts of Ukraine. “E-liky” increases its capacities each year by connecting new medical facilities to the platform. UNDP has been working with patients’ community and civil society in order to help building a system of ‘checks and balances’ that will ensure public control over the national procurement agency’s future activities.

Procurement of vital medicines. In just under four years, UNDP Ukraine managed to save more than UAH 1.7 billion (US$ 66 million) in state budget funds, and thus enable the provision of additional medicines and medical products to cover the needs of patients. The high requirements and standards that UNDP establishes for its tenders means that the medicines procured are of exceptional quality and effectiveness, as unscrupulous producers cannot participate in the process.

Support and involvement of patients’ organizations. The community of patients is one of the driving forces behind the project, and simultaneously a beneficiary of changes in the health care system. The voice of patients should be heard in Ukraine: this is why since 2017 UNDP has provided mini-grants to patients’ organizations to allow them to monitor the availability, monitoring and use of medicines procured. This means that patients can now directly participate in monitoring the procurement process and thus improve it. In 2016, UNDP, along with the patients’ community, developed the “E-Liky” system, which enables patients to check the availability of medicines in 23 oblasts of Ukraine. UNDP has been working with patients’ community and civil society help build a system of ‘checks and balances’ that will ensure public control over the agency’s future activities.

Strengthening the national health procurement system. Since UNDP’s ultimate goal is to enable the Government to procure medicines and medical supplies itself within the health care system, one of the Project’s priorities is to create a central procurement agency and establish a modern health supply system. 

It is also expected that UNDP in Ukraine, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, will develop a digital stock management system for medicines and medical products. This system will help improve the national procurement process and allow the process to be forecast and planned at the national and local levels.

Sharing experience and best practices. Ukraine’s successful experience of procuring medicines through international organizations has been emulated by other states in the region -- mainly countries that already have centralized medicines procurement systems. In 2017 and 2018, contracts were signed with UNDP for the procurement of medicines by Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Increasing the share of suppliers. Transparency was one of the main challenges in the healthcare system, given that by 2015 about 95 percent of tender winners were distributors, leading to monopolization of the relevant processes. Today, 80 percent of medicines and medical products are procured directly through manufacturers.

Impact

START DATE

November 2015

END DATE

March 2023

STATUS

Completed

PROJECT OFFICE

Ukraine

IMPLEMENTING PARTNER

United Nations Development Programme

DONORS

GOVERNMENT OF TURKIYE

Ministry of Health of Ukraine

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

Unspecified

TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS

$665,432,253

DELIVERY IN PREVIOUS YEARS

2015$0

2016$40,770,999

2017$74,382,043

2018$144,972,272

2019$130,924,041

2020$92,407,005

2021$30,746,998

2022$7,056,337

2023$203,570

Full Project information