The programme has been adopted by Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia and the states of Andhra Pradesh, Mumbai, Pune, Rajasthan and Bengal. ``If the mayor of Delhi asks I will start the programme in the MCD units as well. But I am yet to hear from her,'' says Chaudhry. Under the WHO programme, which is completing its fifth year in Delhi, certain essential drugs are procured in bulk and at cheaper rates under strict quality control measures. ``This has helped the Delhi government get drugs at 35 per cent less than their actual cost besides cutting out chances of corruption at the procurement level. Government hospitals are now buying more drugs with the money saved,'' says Chaudhry, who recently received the Secular India Award from the United Children Movement Organisation.

Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana now want to implement the WHO drug procurement programme. ``Himachal Pradesh is all set to implement the scheme, the state Assembly has already okayed it,''adds Chaudhry, who is also president of the newly-formed Delhi Medical Council.

He, however, admits that there are certain loopholes in the policy. ``We have no control once the drugs reach the store. There is a possibility of these being pilfered and sold at this stage,'' he says. ``The only solution is to computerise the entire setup.''

The drug purchase committee headed by Chaudhry tries to eliminate corruption in the procurement stage. The committee has listed about 200 drugs in the essential drugs list for hospitals and about 100 in the list for dispensaries. Under the WHO policy, these drugs are all bought in bulk under the pool procurement programme. ``This ensures that we get drugs at cheaper rates, but we also keep a strict check on the quality,'' says Chaudhry.

The procurement system involves a double-envelop method, under which an applicant for the contract hands in two envelopes. The first is the technical bid containing details about the company like its turnover and facilities and the second is the price bid. The drug purchase committee first looks into the technical bid and if this meets their standards then the price bid is considered. Chaudhry adds that the hospitals have to spend 90 per cent of their money on the listed essential drugs, and 10 per cent on drugs not included in the list.