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Nov 23 2022

Six NATO Allies to jointly source medical support and services through NSPA


LUXEMBOURG – On 22 November 2022, national representatives from Canada, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Norway gathered at the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) Headquarters in Luxembourg to take part in the first meeting of the Medical Support Partnership.

Through the Support Partnership mechanism, the six Allies will jointly source medical support and services, leveraging NSPA's existing medical support capabilities gained from various operational activities over the years.

NSPA has provided a medical support capability since 2007. Back then, the activity focused on the design and development of hospital constructions for the deployed forces in Kandahar and Kabul, Afghanistan. As the requirements grew and Nations became more aware of the potential to source medical support through the Agency, the activities increased to encompass not only planning, but also complex medical equipment, and services.

NSPA's medical activity grew exponentially during the COVID-19 crisis. The Agency played a key role supporting Allies and Partners in tackling the pandemic through the supply and transport of key relief medical supplies and equipment; the delivery of rapidly accessible infrastructure to augment national medical capabilities; or the establishment of testing laboratories in operational threats to control the outbreak.

The Medical Support Partnership was thus created, retroactively on 1 July 2022, to prepare for other similar crisis that NATO and Allies might face in the future and that are of direct concern to the medical community. Founded by six Allies, the Support Partnership becomes the major player concerning the medical requirements, saving crucial time and concentrating resources and instruments to be more efficient, effective and responsive in the event of a crisis.

Six NATO Allies to jointly source medical support and services through NSPA
National representatives from the six participating nations (Canada, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Norway) gathered at the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) Headquarters in Luxembourg to take part in the first meeting of the Medical Support Partnership. 

"I would like to thank all the nations and NSPA for the considerable amount of work invested in setting up this partnership. I know it was a long journey but I expect excellent opportunities to come from this Support Partnership for all of us", said from LtCol. Sarah Van Heukelom (Canada), Medical Support Partnership Chairperson, during her opening remarks.

"The idea for this Partnership started as far back as 2007 with the arrival of the first recruited medical person to NSPA (or NAMSA as it was called then). There is a bright future for this particular group of specialists to share in developing your collective requirements and ambitions within the field of medical expertise." assured Ms. Céline Danielli, General and Cooperative Services Programme Manager.

This is the newest Support Partnership made available to the Nations of the Alliance. The partnership is open to any NATO Ally or Partner who wishes to achieve commonality of requirement, and to benefit from simplified logistics and economies of scale when procuring and obtaining access to medical capabilities.

Story by NATO Support and Procurement Agency

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