Mexico City (October 29, 2020).- President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced an agreement with the United Nations to buy medicines abroad and “guarantee the supply and the right to health” in Mexico.
“The agreement with the UN for the purchase of medicines has already been established. They are going to buy all the medicines of the public sector in the world, where good quality medicines are obtained, at a good price. We need to solve this problem that has been affecting us for a long time, because there is not enough supply and we want it to be solve this situation once and for all. Medicines will be provided in health centers for free to make the right to health a reality, “said the president in a press conference at the National Palace.
López Obrador said that the interests of different parties such as the pharmaceutical companies, drug distributors, and public officials were involved.
“We are talking about 100 billion pesos. There were 10 companies that monopolized the sale of medicines and had representatives within the government ”, AMLO said.
He added that “before” there were legal obstacles for prestigious foreign pharmaceutical companies to introduce their medicines into the country since this process could take up to a year.
“They were the obstacles that had to give preference to certain distributors. A modification is made to the laws with a decree so that this procedure is simplified, ” the president continued.
“The first order for the medicines is already in place, the UN will take over, in particular the UNOPS (United Nations Office for Project Services). This will be a global, transparent tender and it was decided to give an advance to the UN for the purchase of medicines, “he said.
The Secretary of the Treasury, Arturo Herrera, explained the financial mechanism with which the purchase of drugs will be operated, with which 384 key drugs will be acquired for 32 billion pesos.
The first is an agreement between Mexico and UNOPS
The government of Mexico asks Bancomext to send a letter of credit to UNOPS.
Once the parameters that trigger the payments are met, the payment that will support the agreement is done.
San Miguel Times
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