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Health allocates US $ 30 million for the payment of an agreement with UNAPS, which, according to authorities, guarantees transparency in spending for the purchase of medicines.
The Ministry of Health has agreements with UNOPS to guarantee the delivery of medicines in national hospitals in the country. (Free Press Photo: Juan Diego González)
Health Minister Joaquín Barnoya acknowledged on Monday, February 24 that in the agreement with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), it contains a payment of advice for more than US $ 30 million -some Q231.2 million to the type of today’s change.
The official was questioned during a press conference at the National Palace of Culture and explained that the contribution was “clearly established in the agreement” and corresponds to the administrative expenses that in English are known as “Overhead”.
Barnoya indicated that approximately 7.6 % of the total disbursement of the agreement of more than US $ 900 million is allocated to this administrative team.
“This team guarantees that one makes the tender, but also buys the medication and takes it to the winery. That had not been seen before and is one of the advantages of the agreement with UNOPS, that the medicine and the team, by the way , they take it directly where it will be used with total transparency, that is in the agreement, “he said that the official.
In the amendment of the agreement that is published in the portal of the Ministry of Health it is detailed that the portfolio will make the first disbursement at the time of the signature of the Memorandum of Agreement for US $ 31,645,570 to cover direct and indirect operating costs of the first year of operation ” .
The agreement with UNOPS was signed in May 2024, but became effective in November of that year.
It proposes the purchase of medicines and medical equipment for the supply of hospitals and health posts.
On one occasion, Andrea Calvaruso, representative of UNOPS for Guatemala, said that the agreement also aims to transparent the process of acquiring medicines, because tenders are carried out in the United Nations media and the Guatecompras system.