Establishment of OECS/PPS

The OECS/PPS is an agency of the OECS, a formal grouping of nine (9) Eastern Caribbean Countries; Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, with a combined population of approximately 550,000 (Fig.1).    The OECS/PPS was established under a project funded by USAID, and by 1989 the scheme was financially self-sufficient. 

The core function of the OECS/PPS is the pooled procurement of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for nine Ministries of Health (MOHs) of the OECS countries.  During the 2001/02 tender cycle, the annual survey on a market basket of 20 popular drugs showed that the regional prices were 44% lower than individual country prices 2 (Fig. 2).   The continuous annual cost-savings accrued after 16 years of the joint purchasing arrangement have reinforced OECS/PPS as an excellent cost-benefit model of economic and functional cooperation among OECS member countries.