Recent manufacturer’s authorisation now a requirement for drug suppliers – Health Ministry announces

May 23, 2018 News

Special attention is being given to the way procurement is processed by the Ministry of Public Health. This is according to a published notice which boldly states that major changes have been made to the way the Ministry undertakes its procurement process.
The notice, published in the yesterday’s edition of this newspaper, informed that as it relates to suppliers of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, the Ministry has taken a decision to change the way it conducts business with them.
The notice detailed that “one very important measure taken to enhance the efficiency of the evaluation of Bids and other due diligence process is to now request for each of our familiar Pharmaceutical and Medical Suppliers to submit recent manufacturer’s authorisation offered to them.”
A recent Manufacturer’s Authorisation or Marketing Charter Agreement is considered to be one which is an original parchment of the manufacturer and is dated no earlier than six months to date. Eligible suppliers are required to submit these documents to the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary on or before Friday.
These instruments of authorisation, according to the Ministry in its notice, are intended to expedite the verification process during the evaluation period and also to militate against any uncertainty.
This development comes even as the Ministry engages action to ensure that its procurement process is above board. In the not so distant past, officials of the Ministry were required to answer questions about its procurement process, which in some cases had left much to be desired.
In order to ensure that there is transparency and accountability, the Ministry had put in place a Procurement Department, according to Public Health Minister, Ms. Volda Lawrence,
She said that the Procurement Department now has the responsibility for the acquisition of drugs and medicines that meet prescribed safety and health standards at a cost effective price. She went on further to explain the reasons which informed the decision to establish the new unit.
“The recommendations from the Commission of Inquiry into the Ministry of Public Health’s procurement procedures, the Reports and comments emanating from the Auditor General’s Office, and the investigation into the award for emergency drugs at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation [GPHC], together with the Public Procurement Commission’s findings on the matter, have emboldened the Ministry to establish a Procurement Department.”
Lawrence had explained during the most recent budget debates that this Department has its full complement of staff including a USAID-trained and experienced Manager, Supervisors and Support Staff, who will ensure that the Ministry of Health follows the guidelines stipulated in the Procurement Act and adheres to the principles of the Segregation of Duties.
In this way, she asserted that the Ministry and GPHC can withstand scrutiny and function with transparency and integrity.
The Minister said, too, that great emphasis has been placed over the years on the purchasing of drugs and less on the distribution of drugs.
“In other words, the arrival of the drugs at its final destination has not been efficiently monitored, resulting quite often in so-called shortages of drugs,” said Lawrence.
The Minister revealed that the Ministry is therefore putting systems in place that will account for the transportation of drugs and medicines from the Bond until it arrives at its final destination.
Lawrence said that the Ministry will be better positioned to account for the availability of specific drugs.
The issue of late distribution of drugs has been highlighted for years in the Auditor General’s reports.

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