World Health Organization

The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized United Nations agency with a constitutional mandate as the “Directing and Coordinating authority on international health work”.

When diplomats met to form the United Nations in 1945, one of the things they discussed was setting up a global health organization. WHO’s Constitution came into force on 7 April 1948 – a date we now celebrate every year as World Health Day.

WHO adheres to the UN values of integrity, professionalism and respect for diversity. The values of the WHO workforce furthermore reflect the principles of human rights, universality and equity established in WHO’s Constitution as well as the ethical standards of the organization. These values are inspired by the WHO vision of a world in which all peoples attain the highest possible level of health, and our mission to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable, with measurable impact for people at country level. We are individually and collectively committed to put these values into practice.The values of the WHO workforce reflect the principles of human rights, universality and equity established in WHO’s Constitution as well as the ethical standards of the organization.

These values are inspired by the WHO vision of a world in which all peoples attain the highest possible level of health, and its mission to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable, with measurable impact for people at country level. 

More than 7000 people from more than 150 countries work for the organization in 150 WHO offices in countries, territories and areas, six regional offices, at the Global Service Centre in Malaysia and at the headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. In addition to medical doctors, public health specialists, scientists and epidemiologists, WHO staff include people trained to manage administrative, financial, and information systems, as well as experts in the fields of health statistics, economics and emergency relief.

Procurement is a critical function in support of the effective discharge of WHO mandate. In order to fulfill its mandate and achieve its vision WHO must procure a significant volume of goods and services. As a public organization entrusted with donor funds and committed to supporting developing economies, the objective of procurement activities within the WHO is the timely acquisition of goods and services while addressing the following guiding principles:

1. Best Value for Money
2. Fairness, Integrity, Transparency and Equal Treatment
3. Effective Competition
4. Interest of WHO
5. Environmental Concerns

In order to promote transparency of the procurement process and accountability, WHO expects its providers to adhere to the principles, and meet the standards, set forth in the UN Supplier Code of Conduct.

What We Buy

On average, WHO buys approximately USD 700 million worth of goods and services every year to maintain operations in the field and to react to upcoming and recurring demands. While the needs vary, services account for approximately 75% of demand.

Commonly Procured Services:

• Transportation
• International and Local Consultants
• Facilities Rental / Leasing/Maintenance
• Conference Organizing
• Printing, Publishing and Bookbinding Services
• Cargo Transport, Warehousing and Storage
• Project Management
• IT Services
• Evaluation Services
• Technical research activities
• Translation, Editorial, Proofreading services
• Medical services
• National immunization campaign
• Training and Development

Commonly Procured Goods:

• Drugs & Pharmaceuticals
• Diagnostic test kits
• Vaccines
• Laboratory Reagents and Chemicals
• Computer Equipment
• Conferencing Equipment
• Hospital Equipment
• Lab Equipment and Consumables
• Life Science Instruments
• LLINs
• Motor Vehicles
• Computer Software, Licensing and Maintenance
• Management Information Systems
• Satellite Communication Equipment
• Office Furniture
• Office Equipment and Consumables
• Fuel
• Generators
• Security Appliances

How We Buy

WHO buys goods and services from various countries through WHO Headquarter, Regional Offices and different Country Offices in the following six regions;

1. AFRO – Regional Office for Africa:
2. AMRO - Regional Office for the Americas:
3. EMRO - Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean:
4. EURO - Regional Office for Europe:
5. EURO - Regional Office for Europe:
6. WPRO - Regional Office for the Western Pacific:

In WHO responsibility for procurement is based on three tier system, which is at Global level, Regional Office level and at the Country Office level. The Major Offices will enter into contracts with vendors, which may be companies or individuals or organizations. The Contract Review Committee (CRC) ensures that procurement undertaken by the WHO Major Offices complies with relevant guidelines, and that procurement risks are properly assessed and mitigated and also finally best value for money and interest of organization is fully achieved.

As a public organization, WHO must strictly adhere to the organization financial rules and regulations, which mandate that contracts be awarded through a competitive process, obtaining bids through formal tenders or through pre-qualified suppliers for specialized items. To ensure consistency across all Major offices, WHO uses standard templates for bidding documents, available in English and French in some Regions.

WHO procure through recommended suppliers for most of their requirements for goods and services. WHO also procure some products under Pre-Qualification Programme (PQP), main objective of PQP is close cooperation with national regulatory agencies and partner organizations and aims to make quality priority medicines available for the benefit of those in need. This is achieved through its evaluation and inspection activities. Some of the WHO requirements are posted on the United Nations Global Marketplace and WHO procurement website under tender alerts. 

Procurement Methods

A Request for Quotation (RFQ) is an informal invitation to submit a quotation, used for goods valued below USD 25,000. Depending on the complexity of the requirement, vendors will be given minimum 7 business days to respond to an RFQ. Prices, and other commercial terms and conditions are requested and award is usually made to the lowest priced and technically acceptable offer.

An Invitation to Bid (ITB) is used for two types of solicitation methods in WHO, one is procurement request with estimated value between USD 25,000 to USD 200,000, with this method of solicitation there is no public bid opening. Other is a formal invitation to submit quote for procurement over USD 200,000 with a requirement of public bid opening. ITB is usually associated with requirements that are clearly and concisely defined. Normally price is the sole determinant in making an award. Where all technical criteria are met, an award is made to the lowest evaluated and responsive bidder. Vendors will normally be given 15 business days or more to respond, depending on the complexity of the requirement. 

A Request for Proposal (RFP) is a formal request to submit a proposal usually associated with requirements for services, which cannot be clearly or concisely defined. Price is only one of several factors comprising the evaluation criteria. Award is made to the qualified bidder whose bid substantially conforms to the requirement set forth on the solicitation documents and is evaluated to be the lowest cost and responsive to WHO. Vendors are normally given 15 business days or more to respond to an RFP. 

Qualifications and Eligibility

Make sure vendors are qualified and eligible

WHO is a public organization and as such must diligently follow its financial regulations and rules. All WHO procurement is subject to the relevant policies set forth in the eManual. All WHO Suppliers must abide by the UN Supplier Code of Conduct. Under this framework, all vendors must be qualified, as well as eligible.

While qualification criteria may be further specified to meet the needs of a particular purchase, in general terms all qualified WHO vendors must meet the following commercial criteria:

1. Have adequate financial resources to perform the contract or the ability to obtain them;
2. Be able to provide audited financial statements for completed fiscal years upon request;
3. Be able to comply fully and effectively with WHO General Terms and Conditions of Contract;
4. Have the necessary organization, facilities, experience, accounting and operational controls; adequate insurance and technical skills (including, as needed, quality controls, property and production control systems, standards and safety programmes applicable to goods produced or services performed);
5. Have a record of satisfactory performance with WHO, when applicable; and
6. Have sufficient material and financial resources to meet all existing commercial commitments.

Eligible vendors are qualified vendors that have not been temporarily suspended or debarred by WHO or another UN Agency. For more details regarding suspended vendors, WHO considers vendors included in the UN Security Council Sanction Lists (1267) http://www.un.org/sc/committees/consolidated_list.shtml to be ineligible for their contracts. If you are a consortium, holding or parent company, the entire group must meet these eligibility requirements.

Vendor Registration and Tender Alert Service

All WHO suppliers must abide by the UN Supplier Code of Conduct and comply with WHO General Terms & Conditions.

WHO issues tenders to their pre-qualified vendors for goods and services but occasionally publishes some of its procurement opportunities directly on UNGM and its Procurement website under tender alerts.

WHO also participates in the United Nations Global Marketplace, the common procurement portal of the United Nations. UNGM acts as a single window through which potential suppliers may register to access a global market of over USD 15 billion annually across UN organizations. It allows suppliers to keep current business information available to all UN Organizations as a tool for locating potential suppliers. It also provides online access to all tender opportunities and contract awards published by many UN agencies.

In WHO new suppliers can register their business through In Tend which is WHO electronic tendering portal. For registration you can visit following link to access (In- Tend) supplier portal where you can also find step by step supplier guide to the WHO Electronic Tendering Portal: https://ungm.in-tend.co.uk/who/aspx/Home

In case of any help or technical support is required, please follow this link: https://ungm.in-tend.co.uk/who/aspx/Help

Regional or local suppliers who wish to register can contact respective WHO Regional and Country Offices.

Registering with UNGM

To be listed as a potential supplier in the UNGM, please fill out the Supplier Registration Form. The Supplier Registration Form is the same form used by individual organizations to pre-qualify suppliers and incorporate them into their internal procurement rosters. Registering on UNGM is free of charge.
 

Yes, therefore the user should be automatically taken to the external website when clicking on the blue Express Interest button. The blue Express interest button will change to a green View documents button.

e-Procurement system used by this UN organization: In-Tend

Contact email of the e-Procurement system: support@in-tend.co.uk 

How to participate in procurement opportunities requiring electronic submission on UNGM?

Please direct any general questions at gscprocurement@who.int.

If a procurement protest needs to be submitted, click on the FAQs | 11. How do I submit a procurement complaint? page by WHO. 

• Procurement value: 1.63B USD
• Number of countries the organization procured from: 183
• Percentage of total UN procurement: 5.52%
• Ranking by procurement value: 6th
• Top category: Management and Admin Services
• Top region: Europe

To learn more about the procurement volume of each UN organization, visit the Annual Statistical Report and use the interactive dashboard.