By joining the Regional Revolving Fund for Strategic Public Health Supplies of the Pan American Health Organization, the Mexican Institute of Social Security will have access to around 350 drugs (antiretrovirals, oncologicals and antihypertensives, among others), vaccines and other supplies at higher prices. convenient.
This fund is a mechanism that guarantees the IMSS the acquisition of quality products as well as their effectiveness, bioequivalence and bioavailability as they will be prequalified by the World Health Organization that will apply the recommendations of the FDA, the Canadian Regulatory Agency, the European Agency. Regulatory and other high-level regulatory agencies.
By joining this solidarity fund, the IMSS can pool the purchases of medical supplies with countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, as well as other less developed ones such as Honduras, Panama and El Salvador, among others.
This Wednesday the collaboration agreement between the IMSS and PAHO was formalized and during the signing of this agreement, the director of the IMSS, Zoé Robledo said that COVID-19 has made it necessary to work in solidarity and regionally on the continent.
“Today we help each other when generating greater demand that puts us in a better position regionally when negotiating and of course we were very interested in having all the benefits of joining the fund,” said the head of the IMSS.
Photo: Special
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The official added that the medicines that are acquired through this instrument will have a positive impact among the beneficiaries who require this type of product, in addition to the fact that the agreement means another step to meet the goal of the Mexican government in health material that consists of provide medical care and medicines to the entire population.
“We enter a pandemic alone, but when we leave, we have to do it together, so this narrows us, but also gives us a very safe route for our beneficiaries when it comes to their legitimate demand and demand for timely medicines, of the highest quality. and at the best price you can get ”, he considered.
According to Cristian Morales, PAHO representative, this fund will serve the IMSS to optimize its drug procurement processes by having alternatives that meet the highest international transparency standards backed by more than 20 years of experience in the case of drugs and 43 years of experience in the case of vaccines.
And it should be remembered that in 2017, the IMSS had already joined a similar fund: the PAHO Vaccine Rotary, so that with these two mechanisms, the institute will be able to identify the demand for medicines and vaccines, plan their acquisition , strengthen the capacities of national laboratories for quality control, as well as pharmacovigilance.
In the same way, coordination is specified, through PAHO, with global initiatives such as the Global Financial Service for the Acquisition of Medicines, the Green Light Committee for TB, the Medicines and Diagnostic Tests Service for HIV-AIDS, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, UNITAID, and the Antimalarial Drug Service, among others.
Regarding this agreement, the director of Medical Benefits of the IMSS, Víctor Hugo Borja Aburto, explained that since the beginning of the pandemic the institute has focused on solving the challenges of infrastructure, response capacity at the three levels of care, human resources and supplies.
“Before the pandemic, during and after the pandemic, we will need oncological and metabolic drugs to treat the main diseases,” he stressed.
Among the commitments that the IMSS acquired with the signing of this agreement, is the provision of the corresponding budgetary resources, to verify that the procurement of inputs is in accordance with the applicable Mexican regulations, being completely free to accept or not the offers of OPS in response to IMSS requests.
Meanwhile, PAHO guarantees to administer these Funds; assist and advise the Institute in the preparation and implementation of supply plans, in addition to proceeding with the negotiation and acquisition of drugs, vaccines and supplies that the Institute defines under conditions that include quality guarantees.
In addition, PAHO will coordinate with the supplier the customs delivery of the products by air or sea, in the place of destination indicated by the IMSS, within the period established in the purchase orders, however, the final acceptance by the IMSS will be subject to COFEPRIS’s own processes at the time of authorizing its admission to the country.
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