The procurement and stockpiling of medical countermeasures (MCMs) is one of the core areas of work within HERA's mandate. By acquiring stocks of critical medical items such as medicines, vaccines, and personal protective equipment through different procurement mechanisms, including by acting as a central purchasing body for Member States, the Commission works to ensure that the EU maintains a high level of preparedness for future cross-border health threats.
The different purchase mechanisms employed by the Commission for procurement include:
| Mechanism | Definition |
|---|---|
| Wholesale procurement | Procurement by the Commission acting as wholesaler by buying, stocking and reselling or donating supplies and services, including rentals, for the benefit of Member States or partner organisations selected by the Commission. |
| Joint procurement | Procurement by the Commission on behalf of the participant countries on the basis of a joint procurement agreement signed by all parties. The Commission establishes a Joint Procurement Framework contract under which participating countries order and purchase a given medical countermeasure. |
| Grant | The Commission awards grants to EU Member States procuring, hosting and managing the stock. |
Identifying needs and promoting wider use of joint procurement at EU level
HERA is working constantly to pinpoint Member States' needs for key medical countermeasures and to facilitate joint procurement at EU level and beyond to fill gaps in a cost-efficient and coordinated manner, ensuring availability and access of MCMs to all participating countries. As of April 2020, 37 countries have signed the Joint Procurement Agreement, including all EU and EEA countries, the UK, Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Kosovo*.
*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
Identifying requirements and tackle challenges related to transportation, storage and distribution
HERA carries out systematic mapping of the requirements related to the transportation, storage, and distribution of medical countermeasures across the EU to identify key risks and challenges – ensuring that supply chain bottlenecks and other obstacles to a swift response are discovered and addressed well before a crisis hits.
Developing a common EU strategy for stockpiles and supplies
HERA is working to assess existing stockpiling capacity on both Union and national levels and developing a common strategy to ensure effective geographical coverage and timely deployment of critical medical countermeasures across the EU.
Providing operational recommendations to the Union Civil Protection Mechanism
HERA is providing operational support and recommendations on medical countermeasures, their stockpiling and deployment to the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), which UCPM aims to strengthen cooperation between the EU countries and 10 participating states to improve preparedness and response to disasters
The UCPM allows participants to request assistance in case of an emergency that overwhelms national response capacities. Under the rescEU strand of the mechanism, HERA is building strategic stockpiles of critical medical countermeasures across the EU in close cooperation with DG ECHO.
These reserves will cover chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) medical countermeasures and other critical medical items, contributing to a flexible network of supply hubs that can be activated quickly in the case of a cross-border health crisis.
