Sustainable Procurement In the Health Sector - Training Report
11-12 October, 2016 Kiev, Ukraine
Background The challenges and failures of the Ukrainian Ministry of Health public procurement and supply programme, resulted in a two-year gap of available medicine in the country from 2013-2015. In 2015, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine temporarily transferred the responsibilities to purchase essential medicines to international organizations, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Ukraine is now in the process of a Health Reforms, and one of the aims is to create a transparent and independent Health Procurement Agency, in collaboration with the leading experts from the Ministry of Health, NGOs and international organizations. UNDP Country Office provides Ukrainian specialists all possible support to build their capacities to re-establish a transparent and cost-effective procurement system for the Ministry, including environmental and social considerations and hence this training which was initiated by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with UNDP. UNDP and United Nations Environment (UNEP), as members of the informal Interagency Task Team on Sustainable Procurement in the Health Sector (SPHS), strongly work on promotion, development and integration of sustainable procurement policies and practices internally in their own agencies, and externally in the countries where the Agencies collaborate with the Ministries of Health and Environment. Global, regional and national UNDP and UNEP presence represents a vast opportunity to support and capacitate national governments to support development of the legal/regulatory frameworks on sustainable health procurement, and to strengthen the health procurement policies and operations by integrating sustainability aspects in their health systems. Therefore, UNDP and UNEP jointly developed a comprehensive training package on Sustainable Public Procurement for the Health Sector.
Programme Officially opened by UNDP Deputy Country Director, an innovative training on UNDP - UNEP Sustainable Procurement approach was delivered to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. A team of experts shared knowledge and practice with Ukrainian government officials on how to design and implement sustainable public procurement policies that equally factor in the social, economic and environmental impacts of their operations. Participants learned about the UNDP - UNEP Sustainable Procurement approach, and how to develop sustainable procurement policies and strategies, integrate sustainable practices into health care procurement processes, and monitor the implementation of sustainable public healthcare procurement at national and regional levels. The training allowed Ukrainian experts to exchange experiences with international counterparts and notably focused on group work and real case-studies that allowed the participants to acquire wider understanding and practical experience of sustainable public procurement practices in the health sector.
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TIMELINE INFOGRAPHI C
Training Outline POLICY & ACTION PLAN
What is sustaina ble procurement? Key concepts, challenges and opportunities. An action plan to integrate sustainable health procurement .
STEP 1
STEP 2
MONITORING & EVALUATION
GOOD PRACTICES
Sourcing more sustainable suppliers. Evalua tion with inno vative procurement tools with empha sis on sustainability. Life cycle cost assessments .
Discussion on good practices from regional and global levels. Practical exercise on development and implementa tion of sustainable health procure ment process.
STEP 3
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STEP 4
PLANNING & IMPLEMENTATION
CONTRACT MANAGEMENT
Prioritizing action in sustainable health procure ment: assessment of risks and opportunities. Planning sustai nable health procurement and rethinking needs .
Development of contract conditions, use of KPIs and close collaboration with key strategic suppliers.
STEP 5
3
Highlights
Agreement by all participants that a strong legal framework is needed (i.e. national health procurement strategy with consideration of social, economic and environmental aspects)
22
Ukrainian public specialists in healthcare procurement participated, representing all Ukrainian oblasts (regions)
4
Strong interest by participants for further capacity development and support by UNDP and UNEP in the development of sustainable healthcare procurement Practical development of sustainable procurement criteria
Raised awareness of the importance of the whole life-cycle approach
Focus on practical real case studies, sustainable procurement tools, methodologies and international standards
4.9/ 5
Overall assessment of the training
Capacitation of participants with knowledge of environmental and social impacts of health procurement
Lessons Learnt 1
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Involvement of all key national stakeholders in the SPP process vital for success. To create a significant impact at the national level, and ensure the implementation of a sustainable public procurement approach by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, it is important and necessary to involve all the key stakeholders in the process. Strong collaboration between the Ministries of Health, Finance (public procurement authority) and Environment is vital for a successful development, implementation and improvement of a conducive legal framework on sustainable public health procurement. Both Ministries of Health and Environment (State Environmental Academy) were involved in the training in Kiev. Continuous improvements of the training materials essential. Material to be more adapted to the peculiarities of the countries and the profiles of the registered trainees. National legal and institutional frameworks of public procurement and practical case studies, relevant to the Ukraine, to be highlighted in the subsequent training materials. This will ensure training participants’ rapid understanding of the key focus areas and entry points in their healthcare procurement, which they can easily implement to ensure sustainable approaches. This will guarantee that latest updates on SPP approaches and cases are included.
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Training flow to be reversed – start with practical examples on SPP, end with a broader legal framework. The order of the sessions should be revised to start with the concrete and practical implementation of SPP moving to prioritization and design of an action plant and to finish with the legal framework and the broad implications on sustainable development.
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Practical exercises recognized by participants as the most useful sessions. A more interactive approach, with more of practical exercises and sufficient Q&A time, to be considered.
5
Training package to be fully translated in participants’ native language. Whilst the training was delivered in English, and participants had a simultaneous translation into Ukrainian, it was crucial to provide the participants with fully translated training materials in their language beforehand (presentations, supporting documents and practical exercises).
5
Next Steps UNDP Eurasia HIV, Health and Development team, in collaboration with UNEP and UNDP Ukraine Office, will continue to support the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Environment of Ukraine to strengthen Ukrainian national capacities on sustainable health procurement, lowering the environmental burden caused by the health sector, and contributing to creating inclusive green economies and better long-term health practices. UNDP will provide the necessary country level support, methodology and tools to ensure the implementation of sustainable procurement criteria in upcoming processes and will work with partners to establish an engagement with local suppliers and manufacturers of health products and services, in order to meet at least the minimum quality, social and environmental standards and ensure follow up incremental changes that manufacturers and suppliers will achieve in the application of green criteria to attain sustainability in their practices. In order to roll out the training in Eastern Europe and Central Asia region, in 2017 UNDP and UNEP will work on the development and delivery of a Training of Trainers for Russian and English trainers. This will guarantee the right transfer of skills and capacities, sustainability and a more cost effective approach. Similar approach will be considered for other regions where UNDP and UNEP operate.
About the Organizers United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) www.undp.org I www.savinglivesustainably.org UNDP works in more than 170 countries and territories, committed to supporting developing economies and abides by the following principles: best value for money, fairness, integrity and transparency, effective international competition, while promoting more sustainable production and consumption practices. United Nations Environment (UNEP) www.unep.org/10yfp/procurement I www.greeningtheblue.org UNEP is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda. Agency develops international and national environmental instruments, strengthens institutions for the wise management of the environment, and coordinates the 10 Years Framework Programme on Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP). UNEP is currently assisting 16 governments, including Ukraine, in the development and implementation of national SPP policies and action plans. For further information, please contact: info@savinglivesustainably.org Designed by Freepik / Cansu Topaloglu, UNDP All 6 rights reserved Š 2016 UNDP, November 2016