By Toby McIntosh
UNICEF, a key partner in the international effort to procure Covid-19 vaccines “will publish relevant details” on the contracts, “subject to the consent of suppliers,” according to a UNICEF official.
The “consent of the suppliers” suggests that vaccine manufacturers will control what information is released.
Secrecy about the vaccine contracts has emerged at the international and national levels, generated controversy. See EYE Jan 29 story.
UNICEF is playing a major role in the acquisition process for the COVAX Facility, the global mechanism for pooled procurement and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. Backed by the World Health Organization and two multi-partner international organizations that work on vaccines, Gavi and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). COVAX’s goal is to use contributions from developed countries and philanthropies to purchase billions of doses for more than 90 low and middle-income economies.
EYE asked UNICEF to clarify what transparency would exist for the contracts in which it will be involved. A spokesman told EYE Feb. 3 that UNICEF “is currently in negotiations with a number of manufacturers of COVID19 vaccines, on behalf of the COVAX facility, following a tender that was issued in November and closed on 23 December.”
He stated, “For the past ten years, UNICEF has been committed to transparency by publishing negotiated prices for a range of commodities with supplier consent.”
The UNICEF spokesmen further said:
As negotiations are still ongoing, no formal postings on finalized agreements have been made yet. When UNICEF concludes the supply agreements, we will publish relevant details, subject to the consent of suppliers.
The UNICEF spokesman did not reply to a question about whether the contracts would be subject to the UNICEF disclosure policy. However, the policy has several exemptions that could be used to protect vaccine contract information. One protects “[C]ommercial information, if disclosure would harm either the financial interests of the organisation or those of other parties involved.” Anther exemption covers “[I]nformation received from or sent to third parties, with an expectation of confidentiality.”
Price Released for New Contract
The decree of UNICEF’s disclosure was seen Feb. 3 in a press release announcing a long-term supply agreement with the Serum Institute of India for Covid-19 vaccines, to access two vaccine products through technology transfer from ASTRAZENECA and NOVAVAX.
“UNICEF, along with our procurement partners including PAHO, will have access to up to 1.1 billion doses of vaccines for around 100 countries, for approximately $3 a dose for the low- and lower middle-income countries,” the release says.
Addressing transparency, it says: “Sharing pricing information is also a reflection to UNICEF’s commitment to transparency, which we have been demonstrating for the past ten years by publishing all negotiated prices for a range of commodities. As these supply agreements are concluded, we will continue to make public relevant details of the agreements, subject to the consent of the suppliers.”
RFP Suggests Prices, Summaries Will Be Disclosed
Additional, slightly different, information on contract confidentiality is seen in the language of a joint request for proposals announced in November by UNICEF and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). They are “co-leading procurement efforts on behalf of the COVAX Facility, with PAHO responsible for participating economies in Latin America and the Caribbean,” the RFP says. (For RFP see RFP-DAN-2020-503209.PDF on this public notice page.)
A section on “Award Publication” (Page 17 of the RFP) states, “Awarded LTAs [long-term arrangements] and pull contracts [(advance purchase commitments] will be made public per the normal UNICEF, PAHO and Gavi process, respectively. When all LTAs and pull contract awards have been made, a summary of prices and relevant terms will be made public.”
This clause raises a number of issues: the meaning of “per the normal” process, whether information would be withheld until “all” contracts were made, and what the summary would contain.
Confidentiality Clause in EU-AstraZeneca Contract
Confidential treatment of vaccine contract information is occurring at the national government level, sometimes dictated by specific terms in the contract.
For example, a contract between the European Union and AstraZeneca disclosed last week states: “The Receiving Party shall treat all Confidential Information as secret and confidential and shall not use, copy or disclose to any third party any Confidential Information of the Disclosing Party.”
It also says that the EU shall “ensure the protection of confidential information or documents with the same level of protection as its own confidential information or documents and in any case with due diligence.”
Contracts by the European Commission and by national governments have been heavily redacted. See EYE Jan 29 story.
UNICEF has collected of information about the purchases by COVAX and national governments for its COVID-19 Vaccine Market Dashboard. It is based on public sources, such as news reports. It usually shows the numbers of doses purchased, and sometimes the contract price. Links go to the news source, but not to the contracts themselves.
For guidance on investigating Covid-19 contracts see article published by the Global Investigative Journalism Network.
