The Directorate General of Family Planning (DGFP) of Bangladesh has finalised the tender process for purchasing 150m low-dosage contraceptive pills at the cost of Tk1.27bn from the Indian supplier MS Famy Care Limited.
The pills will be purchased as part of the operational plan “Field Services Delivery Programme” that will be implemented under the Health Population and Nutrition Sector Development Program (HPNSDP) of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
MS Famy Care Limited was chosen as the lowest bidder for the consignment over three others in Bangladesh and abroad.
The World Bank had also issued a letter of no objection after reviewing the Recommendation and Bid Evaluation Report given by the government’s tender evaluation committee.
The purchase proposal is likely to be placed at a cabinet meeting scheduled for today. According to the “delegation of power,” the cabinet must approve any public purchase proposal of more than Tk500m.
With the validity of the tender expiring on July 6 and the health minister currently out of the country, it is not clear what will become of the proposal.
Sources say an even bigger uncertainty arose earlier this year regarding the purchase of the low-dosage contraceptive pills, known as Chakra.
Famy Care, who has been selling pills in the Bangladesh market for a number of years, were accused by their competitors of supplying film-coated pills despite having the permission to supply only sugarcoated ones.
The World Bank, however, gave clearance in favour of Famy Care after examining the competitors’ complaints.
The other bidders were HLL Life Care India, Renata Limited Bangladesh and Hubei Yusen Import and Export from China.
Ministry insiders say a number of ministers, lawmakers and influential political leaders sided with the contractors and tried to get them the order for the billion-dollar purchase.
On May 6, State Minister for Health Mujibur Rahman Fakir issued a letter directing the authorities concerned to take action against Famy Care and its local agent Janata Trader for supplying the wrong kind of pills.
However on a phone interview with the Dhaka Tribune on Saturday night, the health minister declined to comment on this.
Officials from the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) and the DGFP did not want to talk about the issue either.
Meanwhile, a number of DGDA officials, requesting anonymity, said Famy Care had not been given permission to supply film-coated pills but also said the difference between the sugar and film coatings was insignificant.
DGFP officials said the matter had been overplayed because of the conflict between the contractors.
Sources said Famy Care, which has been Bangladesh’s lone contraceptive pills supplier for nearly seven years, managed to secure the work order because the other bidders got disqualified for lack of adequate experience.
A number of DGFP personnel said the conditions for qualification must be eased in order to end Famy Care’s monopoly of the business.
The secretary of the health ministry, MM Niazuddin said the tender for procuring 150m pills was finalised but he did not know when it would be placed before the cabinet for approval.
When asked about the allegations made against the Indian supplier, he said: “I have been recently transferred to this ministry. All the procedures had been completed before I joined. So, I cannot tell you anything in detail.”
Tendering process
Health ministry sources said the international tender for procuring the pills under the funding of the International Development Agency (IDA) was floated on September 26 last year after the World Bank’s approval.
A total of nine contractors received the bidding document. By November 14, four of them – HLL Life Care India, Renata Limited Bangladesh, Hubei Yusen Import Export and Famy Care Limited – had submitted their tenders.
On December 17, a meeting of the tender evaluation committee decided that only Famy Care’s bid fulfilled the qualification criteria.
Famy Care was the only contractor who said it could supply pills with five years of shelf life.
It is however reported that, among the other bidders, Hubei Yusen offered the highest shelf life of four years.