Supply Division is pleased to share with you the UNICEF Supply Catalogue, which is intended to assist you in your supply planning, delivery and monitoring. It contains the specifications of some 2,000 commodities, helping you to identify the most appropriate supplies for your programmes and maximize your collaboration with UNICEF Supply Division.
The catalogue provides information on the most widely used products that are procured and used by UNICEF, which are referred to as 'standard items'. It is not, however, an exhaustive list of the commodities used or procured by UNICEF. A specific situation may require other products, known as 'non-standard items'. UNICEF Supply Division also handles non-standard items upon request as long as they fit into UNICEF's mandate for children. Non-standard items are more time-consuming to process than standard commodities, so customers are recommended to order standard items whenever possible and appropriate.
The specifications included in this catalogue are intended to be generic and must be interpreted as equivalent or functionally equivalent. The identification of many items is facilitated by illustrations (photographs and line drawings). Any reference to any national standard or trade name, including those that might appear on the photographs, should be considered to be for illustration only and not an endorsement of a specific standard, brand or supplier.
Background:
Supplies have been at the core of UNICEF's mandate since its inception in 1946.
The value of supplies procured by UNICEF is increasing rapidly, totalling $1.2
billion in 2006 (including $449 million through Procurement Services). Supply
Division focuses its procurement of supplies on supporting the organizational
priorities of UNICEF's strategic plan:
- Young child survival and development,
- Basic education and gender equality,
- HIV/AIDS and children, and
- Child protection.
Supplies are also an important part of the UNICEF contribution to achieving the Millennium Development Goals and the goals of A World Fit for Children, adopted by the General Assembly at the Special Session on Children in May 2002. UNICEF’s Procurement services are an additional means of supporting the organization’s priorities as part of national programmes for children.