Global Fund Procurement and Supply Management Policies and Guidelines

In order to achieve the goal of the Global Fund to dramatically increase action to reduce infections, illness and death from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, access to and availability of a range of health products is crucial. In order to provide medicines and other health products to as many people as possible, the Global Fund has adopted a set of policies and principles on procurement and supply management (PSM) that aim to support the procurement of quality-assured medicines and other health products in sufficient quantities, reduce cost inefficiencies, ensure the reliability and security of the distribution system, encourage appropriate use of health products and continuously monitor and evaluate the procurement process. These policies are outlined and explained in the Guide to the Global Fund’s Policies on Procurement and Supply Management .

That Guide highlights that PRs are responsible for ensuring that all procurement and supply management conducted under the grant, including that conducted by other entities (such as sub-recipients) conforms to Global Fund requirements. Hence PRs are required to have systems in place to monitor the performance of other actors conducting procurement or supply management under the program.

Articles 18-19 of the Grant Agreement outline the policies and practices which are required of the PR in contracts of goods and services.  A Guide for Writing the Procurement and Supply Management Plan assists PRs prepare a PSM for Global Fund approval.

It is noted that capacity for procurement and supply is a major factor in assessing the suitability of a prospective PR. The LFA’s Pharmaceutical and Health Product Management (PHPM) Assessment Tool identifies the major issues reviewed in this process.

In view of the concern to ensure that Global Fund funds are used for effective and safe products, an important element of the Guide to the Global Fund’s Policies on Procurement and Supply Management  relates to Quality Assurance – i.e. those management activities required to ensure that the medicines (or other health products) that reach patients are safe, effective and acceptable to patients. These activities may include, but are not limited to, (medication) registration, pre-qualification and quality control. The Global Fund Quality Assurance Policy defines acceptable QA standards.