By Judith Ugwumadu | 23 September 2013 

The UK Department for International Development has won a procurement award for its contraceptive implant programme.

Working with a consortium of public and private organisations, DFID has struck a deal with pharmaceutical company Bayer to fund contraceptive implants for 27 million women in developing countries over the next six years. In return for this funding certainty, Bayer has agreed to slash the price for the ‘traditionally expensive’ Jadelle implant by more than half, to around $9 per item.

Savings made will be reinvested in additional procurement and in healthcare systems in the developing world. The project is expected to save over £162m ($250m), and will go towards training in areas such as counselling and high-quality care.

Other members of the consortium include: the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; the US, Norwegian and Swedish governments; the Clinton Health Access Initiative; the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation; and the United Nations Population Fund.

UK development minister Lynne Featherstone said: ‘The success of the innovative contraceptive implant project shows what we can achieve when we work collaboratively with partners. 

‘By improving access to reliable contraception we are helping to prevent millions of unwanted pregnancies and hundreds of thousands of deaths, and the money saved will help even more people in the developing world.’

DFID beat BAE Systems, BP, EE and UK Ministry of Defence to the prize for Best International Procurement Project of the Year, awarded by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply.