Due to the low participation of bidders (9 out of 32 companies who purchased the bidding rules), only 197 products out of a total of 320 could be offered in a tender issued last week. Therefore the 123 products that were left out will not be awarded, but instead acquired through international mechanisms, said Fuad Hasbum, president of the National Association of Drugstores.

According to health authorities, the implications of the situation are unknown. The figures can not be confirmed by the Ministry of Health until the end of the analysis process for the drug tender amounting to $29 million.

According to Jorge Fernandez, a member of the Drug Commission at the Ministry of Health, the products that were not tendered will be purchased with the support of international organizations. "We have to find an alternative, which could be a UN organization or Central American mechanism for drug purchases," he said.

Source: elheraldo.hn

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