Abstract
.Shortages of essential supplies used to prevent, diagnose, and treat COVID-19 have been a global concern, and price speculation and hikes may have negatively influenced access. This study identifies variability in prices of products acquired through government-driven contracts in Ecuador during the early pandemic response, when the highest mortality rates were registered in a single day. Data were obtained from the National Public Procurement Service (SERCOP) database between March 1 and July 31, 2020. A statistical descriptive analysis was conducted to extract relevant measures for commonly purchased products, medical devices, pharmaceutical drugs, and other goods. Among the most frequently purchased products, the greatest amounts were spent on face masks (US$4.5 million), acetaminophen (US$2.2 million), and reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay kits (US$1.8 million). Prices varied greatly, depending on each individual contract and on the number of units purchased; some were exceptionally higher than their market value. Compared with 2019, the mean price of medical examination gloves increased up to 1,307%, acetaminophen 500 mg pills, up to 796%, and oxygen flasks, 30.8%. In a context of budgetary constraints that actually required an effective use of available funds, speculative price hikes may have limited patient access to health care and the protection of the general population and health care workers. COVID-19 vaccine allocations to privileged individuals have also been widely reported. Price caps and other forms of regulation, as well as greater scrutiny and transparency of government-driven purchases, and investment in local production, are warranted in Ecuador for improved infectious disease prevention.
Highlights
Shortages of essential supplies used to prevent, diagnose, and treat COVID-19 have been documented around the world, with the pandemic exacerbating the impact of systemic weaknesses on availability in places with high transmission rates.[1]
Our study quantifies differences in prices of commonly purchased devices, medicines, and supplies in public contracts registered in SERCOP that have been identified as relating to the COVID-19 pandemic
The Ecuadorian Institute of Social Security (IESS) bought 4,000 units at US$148.5 per human remains pouches (HRPs), a value 493% higher than the market price of US$25.13 Prices of individual items per unit can be found in the link shared in the Availability of Data section
Summary
Shortages of essential supplies used to prevent, diagnose, and treat COVID-19 have been documented around the world, with the pandemic exacerbating the impact of systemic weaknesses on availability in places with high transmission rates.[1] Lack of medical devices such as mechanical ventilators, reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) test kits, and a full range of personal protection equipment (PPE) for health care workers to safely comply with clinical duty has not been the only cause for concern; limited access to basic food supplies may increase exposure and vulnerability to the disease.[2]. Vulnerable populations have relied, for example, on food kits from the World Food Program[7] and provisionally lower-priced food and drug outlets supported by the peasant movement (Movimiento Social Campesino, FECAOL, in Spanish).[8,9]
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