Dili, October 28, 2022 – UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the leading UN agency on sexual and reproductive health, and the Timor-Leste National Medical Stores and Procurement Agency (SAMES) today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Third Party Procurement (TPP) that will give the government of Timor-Leste access to UNFPA’s global supply network to procure lifesaving sexual and reproductive health commodities.
The MoU will allow SAMES to access UNFPA’s product catalogue linked to a global supplier network with competitive prices and high quality commodities. The products available through the network range from sexual and reproductive health commodities, maternal health medicines, diagnostic test kits, pharmaceuticals, medical devices to emergency reproductive health kits, among others.
With Timor-Leste having one of the highest maternal mortality rates in Southeast Asia (195 per 100,000 live births) and where family planning needs are still largely unmet, the agreement is a serious commitment of the Government of Timor-Leste to invest in sexual and reproductive health and rights of the Timorese in accordance with the Reproductive Health Commodity Security Strategy and the Family Planning Policy, both supported by UNFPA.
According to UNFPA Timor-Leste Country Representative, Pressia Arifin-Cabo, the agreement will contribute directly to achieving sustainable development goals in Timor-Leste – particularly in ending unmet need for family planning and ending preventable maternal deaths.
“UNFPA will continue working closely with Timor-Leste Ministry of Health and SAMES for the forecasting and quantification exercises, development of procurement requests, and plan for the in-country distribution of the relevant commodities, so as to ensure commodities reach the end users and thus abide by the last mile assurance principles,” said Pressia Arifin-Cabo.
For more information, contact:
Suleiman Okoth
Communications and Programme Support Specialist
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Timor-Leste
Mobile: +67075169796, Email; okoth@unfpa.org
