UNOPS supplies Sri Lankan Health authorities with US$ 1mn of essential medical equipment to address COVID-19 outbreak

The Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine (MOH), UNOPS and the Embassy of Japan in Sri Lanka announced their collaboration to address the Coronavirus outbreak during a handover ceremony held last week in Colombo, UN colombo office said in a statement.

‘We are grateful to the Government of Japan for their contribution to increase treatment capacity for COVID-19 patients and to UNOPS for the timely procurement and delivery of essential health equipment to improve the supply chain of the public health response’ said Hon. Minister Pavithri Wanniarachchi.

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed the efficiency of public procurement in the spotlight . The  ability of governments to source what they need in a timely, transparent and responsible manner has become vital during this emergency response across the world’ said Sudhir Muralidharan, UNOPS Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives.This has prompted governments to update their procurement practices to speed up purchasing, enhance efficiency and open the door to alternative means of supply.

In Sri Lanka, public procurement represents close to 15% of the total GDP of which 0.9% is spent on public health procurement. The implementation of better public spending practices can play a critically important role in helping countries make progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  

UNOPS –  the central resource for procurement and infrastructure in the UN  system -has been a partner of the Ministry of Health since 2005 with a significant portfolio of projects delivered in Healthcare Infrastructure and Procurement for over US$ 40mn through construction and renovation of 65 hospitals and health centres across the island.