OECS Convenes Inaugural Tenders and Technical Advisory Committee Meeting

The OECS Pooled Procurement Service (PPS) convened its 1st Meeting of the Tenders and Technical Advisory Committee in Saint Lucia on March 7 - 8,  2023.  The Meeting reviewed Bids and Tenders submitted by suppliers, the award of contracts for Laboratory and Diagnostic Commodities for the Tender cycle 2023 - 2025, and Quality Assurance.

The meeting was chaired by the Head of the OECS- Pooled Procurement Services, Roselyn Opel and was attended by Laboratory Managers, Directors, Pathologists, and other Laboratory Personnel from each of the nine participating OECS Members States: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Other activities on the agenda included a presentations on;

1. PPS mechanism, Procurement and Quality Assurance processes by the OECS-PPS Team
2. Presentation by he OECS Finance team,
3. Overview on “Procurement and Supply Chain Management of Laboratory Products” by Pamela Steele, Procurement and Supply Chain Management Expert and Founder of Pamela Steele Associates
4. “The Importance of Essential Invitro Diagnostics List” by Valerie Wilson, Director, Caribbean Med Labs Foundation (CMLF).

The Tenders Committee awarded tenders for 47 products from the list of 129 submitted products and agreed to re-tender for the rest of the products. The committee also agreed to expand the list of products to be included in the re-tender and future tenders through the Pooled Procurement Mechanism.

Head of the OECS-PPS also requested that Member States commit to timely funding of their ECCB accounts to ensure that suppliers are paid on time to avoid any service disruptions.

The Technical Advisory Committee agreed to pursue a strategy to oversee the harmonization of Laboratory Products, standardization of equipment and contracts where possible, development and ratification of both National and Regional Essential Diagnostic List in line with WHO guidelines.