The Government of the Virgin Islands hosted the first ever OECS-Pool Procurement Services (OECS PPS) Chief Medical Officers and Chief Pharmacists meeting from November 26 to 28.

            The meeting was held in partnership with the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) in an effort to ensuring the consistent availability of high-quality, affordable medicines across member states.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Ronald Georges said as a member state, the VI will benefit from better pricing on all health commodities within the PPS commodity lists. 

Dr. Georges said, “This will create greater cost-effectiveness within the health system.  It will also ensure that we access high quality appropriate medical products.  Part of this process also requires harmonisation of commodities across the OECS region. “This will create more accessibility and ability to share resources across the region to prevent stock out situations.”

The Chief Medical Officer added, “We are also discussing the possibility of having a strategic commodity store around the region to help mitigate the ongoing issues with costs, logistics, and transportation.  This will help to develop health systems, increasing efficiency and effectiveness thereby creating a more efficient and functional health system which contribute to the development of the territories.”

The OECS PPS was established to pool procurement of pharmaceuticals and health care commodities across the Easter Caribbean Countries.  These are currently being expanded to include dental, medical, orthopedic and lab products.  The service is also responsible for monitoring quality and providing educational and training opportunities within the participating countries. 

Head of OECS PPS Ms. Roselyn Opel said that the meeting was setup to facilitate a conversation between the procurement service, Chief Medical Officers and the Chief Pharmacists to improve collaboration among stakeholders and strengthen medical commodity security within member states. 

“We want to ensure that moving forward all of our member states have the required medicines and commodities to ensure efficiency and effectiveness of health care delivery,” Ms. Opel said.

Advisor for Health Systems Dr. Vishwanarth Partapsing, of the Pan American health Organization Eastern Caribbean Office of Program Cooperation facilitated the final day of the meeting.  The session focused on regional initiatives to implement disease elimination and the PAHO Better Care for Non-Communicable Diseases into Primary Health Care initiatives and the synergies with OECS PPS. 

The objectives of the three day meeting including the establishment of a protocol for communication, the development of a forum for Chief Pharmacist and Chief Medical Officers to be involved in shaping the policy and strategy direction of the OECS PPS, and also for a list of priorities to be taken forward to the OECS PPS Policy Board for consideration. 

Since its inception, the OECS PPS has been vital in ensuring the consistent availability of high-quality, affordable medicines across member states. The Virgin Islands as an original signatory and participant continues to benefit from the operations of the OECS PPS.  The service has fostered significant cost savings by pooling resources and negotiating favourable terms with pharmaceutical suppliers. The OECS also provides technical support, training, and professional development, contributing to stronger healthcare systems throughout the sub-region.