Issues raised include:

  • A request that a Ministerial Task Team to assess procurement procedures begin work immediately.
  • Concerns about the wording of the ARV tender specifying that the inclusion of Fixed Dose Combinations (FDCs) will be based on economic considerations alone, given the current pricing of FDCs in South Africa’€™s private sector.
  • A reminder that not only are FDCs available in developing countries for as little as R69 (Ranbaxy), but that the benefits of FDCs far outweigh mere cost considerations.    

South Africa’€™s Department of Health (DoH) announced the ARV tender for the period of 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2014 on 5th October. The DoH outlined the details of the tender – which can be found here  http://www.doh.gov.za/docs/tenders/2012/hp13-2013arv.pdf  –  in an open event on 10 October.