We are delighted to announce that the Government of Ukraine has selected Crown Agents as its preferred supplier to manage the procurement of medical devices and lifesaving drugs for 12 major health programmes including cardiovascular and adult and child oncology.

The new contract running until 2020, follows Crown Agents success in previous years described by Guardian Columnist Oliver Bullough as ‘one of the most successful hands-on anti-corruption interventions in history’.

Over the next few years Crown Agents will manage government funds worth $115 million to ensure that all Ukrainians throughout the country can better access healthcare services, including high quality cancer treatments and coronary stents when they are most in need.

Heart attack is the leading cause of death among the adult population in Ukraine. From 2016-2018 we procured more than 60,000 stents for emergency cases satisfying over 90% demand for the very first time. Our intervention over this period saw mortality due to cardiovascular disease drop by a dramatic 20% across nearly half of the country. In addition the procurement outsourced to Crown Agents generated $50 million in savings for the Ministry of Health.

More savings to the social budget are likely to accrue over the next three years as mortality is set to further decrease and the number of working days lost to disability falls. Typically, patients benefiting from urgent stent surgery recover quickly and are able to return to work after a short period of time.

Looking ahead to the challenge this scale up represents and the expected outcomes for healthcare provision in Ukraine, Country Director Tetiana Korotchenko said:

“This is a fantastic opportunity for Crown Agents to build on the success we have secured over the past three years, and once again for us to make a tangible difference to the quality of healthcare provision in Ukraine. This is our biggest win in the country so far and will see us manage the procurement for 12 major health programmes involving over 500 line-items. Our objective is to rise to the challenge and ensure that every single item procured complies with the highest international standards while offering the best value for money. We hope to deliver further savings for the Ministry of Health, which can be used to invest in further improvements to services for the citizens of Ukraine.”

Learn more about Crown Agents’ procurement work in Ukraine or contact Tetiana Korotchenko at: Tetiana.korotchenko@crownagents.co.uk