Using the services of the British purchasing agency Crown Agents allowed the Ministry of Health of Ukraine to save more than $62 million, or 40% of the budget funds, in five years.
This is stated in a study conducted by Crown Agents and the Center for the Study of Corruption at the University of Sussex.
According to the study, in the first year of Crown Agents’ cooperation with the Ministry of Health, more than 75% of medicines were purchased at a lower cost than in the previous year.
“The overall amount lost to corrupt practices in healthcare is estimated to be around $500 billion annually, and procurement is the biggest risk area,” Liz David-Barrett, the director of the Center for the Study of Corruption at the University of Sussex, said.
“COVID-19 has provided a window of opportunity to tackle corrupt procurement practices in healthcare systems across the world,” she said.
