Achieving universal access to essential healthcare products remains a critical challenge across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). While individual countries may have made notable strides in strengthening their procurement and regulatory systems, regional disparities in access, affordability, and quality persist. Coordinated procurement mechanisms—a strategic collaborative initiative in which multiple buyers consolidate their purchasing activities to enhance procurement efficiency and leverage collective bargaining power —offer a promising approach to improving efficiency, reducing costs, and ensuring equitable distribution of medical products. These mechanisms can take various forms across different levels, including international arrangements between countries.

In light of growing global commitments to address access barriers to healthcare products, especially antimicrobials and other essential medicines, SECURE was established to work with countries to pioneer new approaches to ensuring antibiotic access while advocating appropriate use. SECURE is a partnership between the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP).

This study, conducted by the Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program Foundation (HITAP), Thailand, in collaboration with WHO, aims to investigate the structure, implementation, and outcomes of coordinated procurement efforts in ASEAN. It will examine key aspects of coordinated procurement and the accompanying regulatory policies within ASEAN, focusing on case studies. This study explores the institutional, logistical, and political challenges that hinder cross-country collaboration and identifies lessons learned to inform future regional collaboration strategies. This study also directly supports the goal of achieving universal health coverage and a core target under Sustainable Development Goal 3 by emphasizing the need for affordable access to safe, effective, and quality-assured medicines and health products.