Tk193 cr approved for contraceptive pills

Collected Photo

The government has approved Tk193.16 crore to purchase 38.75 million cycles of third-generation oral contraceptive pills to maintain the supply under the national family planning programme.

The approval was given at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase chaired by Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury at the Secretariat on Thursday (October 1).

Under the procurement, 19.375 million cycles will be purchased under each of two packages — GD-4B and GD-4C — at a cost of Tk96.58 crore per package. The project, titled “Implementation of unfinished activities of essential family planning, maternal, child and reproductive health services under the completed Fourth Sector Programme”, runs from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2027.

The Directorate General of Family Planning will implement the procurement under a proposal from the Health Education and Family Welfare Division. The funds will come from the government budget.

According to the procurement proposal, only one bid was submitted for each package under the open tender process, and both bids were found technically acceptable. After evaluation, the tender evaluation committee recommended Renata PLC as the sole bidder.

The government subsequently approved the purchase of the pills from Renata PLC at Tk96.58 crore for each package, with a total cost of Tk193.16 crore. The unit price of each cycle has been set at Tk49.85.

According to the Directorate General of Family Planning, around 39 percent of eligible couples under the country’s family planning programme rely on oral contraceptive pills. Existing stocks are expected to last for less than a month, prompting the authorities to procure additional supplies.