In order to fulfil its objective and achieve its vision of empowered lives and resilient nations, IHO must procure a significant volume of goods and services. As a not for organization entrusted with donor funds and committed to supporting Vulnerable communities, IHO works to improve access to quality assured supplies in a cost effective and reliable way. We do this by abiding the following principles:

• Best Value for Money, which consists of the selection of the offer that best meets the end-users’ needs and that presents the best return on investment. Best Value for Money is the result of several factors, including quality, experience, the vendor’s reputation, life-cycle costs and benefits, and parameters that measure how well the good or service allows the organization to meet its social, environmental or other strategic objectives.
• Fairness, Integrity and Transparency, which ensures that competitive processes are fair, open, and rules-based. All potential vendors should be treated equally, and the process should feature clear evaluation criteria, unambiguous solicitation instructions, realistic requirements, and rules and procedures that are easy to understand.
• Effective International Competition, understood as giving all potential vendors timely and adequate information on IHO requirements, as well as equal opportunity to participate in procurement actions, and restricting them only when it is absolutely necessary to achieve IHO development goals; and

In the best interest of IHO, this means that any business transactions must conform to the objectives and principles of IHO: The focus is primarily:

• Supplies in emergencies
• Health and Nutrition
• Water and Sanitation