Photo: Myriam Zilles/Unsplash

By KELIN DILLON

Despite more than 86.8 percent of drugs ordered from the United Nations Office of Project Services (UNOPS) by Mexico having not yet arrived at the necessary institutions, the federal government and President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) have touted the purchase as a victory.

According to the Mexican Secretariat of Health, only 25.8 million of 196.5 million medicines and other medical equipment have arrived so far, with the remaining 170.7 million still reportedly in transit.

“The purchase was really a triumph,” said López Obrador in his press conference on the morning of Tuesday, July 20, though did not mention when the missing shipments would arrive in Mexico.

For his part, Secretary of Public Health Jorge Alcocer said Mexico had separately acquired 996 key medical pieces not covered by the UNOPS purchase for a total of 31.5 billion pesos, saving 7.18 billion pesos from the budget allocated for this venture.

“We had to do it quickly, with fair prices, with national and foreign suppliers, without affecting quality, with regulatory support and without abuse or corruption,” said Alcocer. “We can say that we achieved that goal.” 

Within this purchase were 27 key medical components to combat cancer in children, who had been left without the proper pharmaceuticals for treatment for months until now.