The Global Fund requires all Principal Recipients (PRs) to have a detailed approved list of health products, with quantities and costs, including any and all related procurement and supply management costs before any funds are spent on pharmaceuticals or other health products. The list of health products, quantities and costs is incorporated into the standard template, which is aligned with the detailed budget template. The PR should also attach supporting documentation with the relevant quantification, hypotheses and assumptions used to calculate the quantities listed. The list constitutes the basis of a Procurement Action Plan (PAP) that should be developed by the Country Office (CO) as soon as possible—preferably before the programme begins. 

The PAP needs to be reviewed and updated by the CO every year. COs that implement Global Fund grants are not required to submit a CO’s PAP that also includes a PAP for Global Fund grants. An annual PAP for Global Fund grants is prepared separately by the Project Management Unit (PMU) and sent to Cécile Mace  for consolidation of the global procurement forecast and monitoring. Some pharmaceutical and other medical products have long lead times, and orders need to be placed at the beginning of the programme.

As the PR is not allowed to purchase pharmaceuticals or other medical products prior to approval of its list of health products, quantities and costs, delay in preparation of this key document and the PAP can delay programme implementation. The list should be developed according to the template prescribed by the Global Fund.

Practice Pointer

For successful procurement and supply management (PSM) implementation, the COs need to take into consideration and to avoid some of the common mistakes in procurement plans that have been reported by the Global Fund, as follows: Lack of specificity about which entities are responsible for each aspect of the PSM chain. Lack of information about the distribution and storage of products. Lack of details about quality assurance and quality control. Lack of due diligence with regard to verification of product compliance with the Global Fund Quality Assurance (QA) policies, especially for pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Lack of attention to intellectual property rights laws. Lack of attention to rational drug use. Failure to include a forecast or explanation of how quantities were determined. Inappropriate ‘cutting and pasting’ from the procurement plan of another office without an analysis of the specific problems in the country where the PSM is being implemented.

The list must be approved by the Global Fund during the grant-making process before any expenditure on pharmaceuticals or other health products can be made, unless a waiver is obtained in advance from the Global Fund.