Procuring supplies for children
Medicines & nutrition
Nutrition supplies constitute an important part of the nutrition response for women and children. These supplies consist of specific therapeutic food and other supplies for therapeutic feeding centers, as well as for supplementary feeding interventions. UNICEF has the mandate to provide supplementary food and therapeutic food for infants and children. In 2008, Supply Division procured $86 million worth of nutritional supplies, mainly for emergency situations.
Medicines provide safe, effective treatment for the infectious and chronic diseases that affect the world's population. The provision of medicines not only alleviates suffering and diseases directly, but also underpins all other aspects of primary health care. Supply Division is a centre of expertise on the quality, manufacture, regulatory requirements and purchasing of essential medicines. The Division assists national governments, donor agencies and other organizations involved in medicines supply to obtain quality pharmaceutical products at reasonable prices. This is done by selecting essential medicines produced by reliable suppliers that meet international standards for manufacturing pharmaceutical products. In 2008, UNICEF procured over $135 million worth of pharmaceuticals.
To see the 2009 Bid Plan for essential medicines and nutrition, click here
UNICEF Supply Catalogue
The UNICEF Supply Catalogue contains specifications for some 2,000 commodities based on the long experience of UNICEF Supply Division.
