Procuring vaccines: Ministry’s appeal put off over technicality

A deputy attorney general has sought time to amend the appeal.

LAHORE:

A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Monday objected to an appeal of the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination against an order of a single bench declaring its process of procurement of pentavalent vaccine from United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) illegal.

The bench headed by Justice Shahid Waheed asked Deputy Attorney General Naseer Bhutta how a ministry could file such an appeal.

The DAG told that court that the ministry had filed the appeal on behalf of the federal government.

The judge noted that there was nothing in the appeal mentioning the federation.

Bhutta then requested the court for permission to amend the appeal.

In the intra-court appeal (ICA), the ministry had submitted that a single bench of the LHC had (last month) declared the process of procurement of vaccine illegal.

It said that in order to tackle vaccine-preventable diseases among vulnerable children and pregnant women, the government was implanting an Expanded Programme of Immunisation (EPI) with support of GAVI Alliance, an international immunisation financing institution.

It said for release of payment to the UNICEF, they submitted the case to accountant general of Pakistan which was pending because of court orders.

It said the vaccine is required urgently to avoid the stock up because Pakistan has entered into a default status due to non payment to the UNICEF.

Justice Ayesha A Malik had declared the process of procurement illegal and a violation of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority rules.

The court had passed the order on a petition by Advocate Tipu Salman Makhdoom.

Makhdoom’s counsel advocate Ahmed Awais said the government was duty-bound to procure vaccines under the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules.

The court had directed the ministry to start procurement after inviting open tenders as required under the PPRA rules.

He said on December 17, 2013 the government had advertised an invitation for bids for procurement of various vaccines.

He said pentavalent vaccine (DPT-Hep B-Hib) was not on the list of medicines.

The vaccine protects infants from diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), hepatitis B, and influenza.

He claimed that the Ministry of Health did not invite bids for the purchase of these vaccines because it wanted to buy from a dealer of its choice.

He said the ministry had ‘secretly’ awarded the contract to the UNICEF.

He said the decision of the Ministry of Health to sign the contract with the UNICEF without inviting tenders was a violation of the PPRA rules and several rulings of the Supreme Court.

He asked the court to declare the decision of the government illegal and unconstitutional.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 15^th, 2014.