b'The Pandemic: 280,000 PPEImmediate Response items delivered to South Sudan as part of our to Emergency NeedsHealth Pooled Fund project4 million Crown Agents hasPPE items inspected set a very high bar of medical procurements PROCUREMENT FREIGHTQUALITYWAREHOUSING SYSTEMS900 for prices, competition and transparency. FORWARDING ASSURANCE ANDSTRENGTHENINGinspections completed in 2020& LOGISTICS INSPECTIONS & INSTITUTIONALMinistry of Health UkraineREFORM From the 2010 earthquake in Haiti to the 2014 EbolaPrioritising the needs of vulnerable countries also meant outbreak and Hurricane Irma in 2017, Crown Agents has beendelivering goods to more logistically challenging parts of at the front line of the response to major disasters acrossthe globe, such as remote islands in the Atlantic Ocean, the globe for nearly three decades. The Covid-19 pandemicwhere there was no landing strip for air freight. Here, has been no different: our teams have procured, inspectedthe timely delivery of orders matter as the only means and moved critical medical supplies across the world atof delivery is via small vessels which sail once every few a moments notice. They have overcome unprecedentedmonths. The packaging and repackaging of often hazardous supply chain disruption and ensured supplies reach evengoods therefore needed to be carefully coordinated. Yet, the remotest regions, where support is most needed.this was all in a days work for our experienced team. We The mantra of leave no one behind plays a critical role inused extensive supply chain mapping and contingency much of the work Crown Agents does and characterises ourplanning to mitigate challenges and safely delivery orders ongoing global response to Covid-19.at their requested quantities to hard-to-reach destinations, The global spread of the virus has created a challengingwithout delay.environment in which to run supply chain and logisticsOur expertise in public procurement, working alongside operations, particularly when tasked with ensuring thatgovernments to reform how they purchase goods and poorer countries can access PPE at a price they can afford.services, also played a part in helping to ensure the As our CEO, Fergus Drake, said in his interview with the BBC,availability of critical items needed to tackle the pandemic. it feels a bit like the Wild West in the procurement market,In Ukraine for example, we have saved the Ministry of Health with those with the deepest pockets who can place the(MOH) over $30 million by fairly and transparently procuring largest orders going to the front of the queue. Our teamsmedicines and medical products for their oncology and were up against not only global competition to purchaseoncohematology programmes. With 83% of medicines now costing the government less than in 2015, the MOH was able goods that were in short supply, but also the challenge ofto use part of these savings to contract us to procure overOur work with Crown Agents, procuring and sourcing high-quality products in a market flooded with 1.5 million pieces of PPE for Ukrainian health workers during inexperienced and unreputable merchants selling defectivethe outbreak. delivering testing and PPE supplies to all the equipment. As experts in Quality Assurance and Inspections, we have carried out around 90 inspections of PPE, ahead ofIn total we were able to supply and deliver over 4 million shipment, in 2020 so far. This has ensured that the goodsitems of PPE on time to 50 countries and Overseasinhabited Overseas Territories has saved lives we purchase are safe for healthcare workers fighting Territories. Despite facing closed routes, export restrictions the virus.and raw material shortages, when it came to ensuring fairand will have long-term benefit.access to the worlds limited supply of PPE, we worked around the clock to ensure vulnerable countries werent Baroness Sugg, Former Minister for Sustainable Development and the left behind. Overseas Territories, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office10 11'