Potential donors can now express their interest to provide equipment to the IAEA’s laboratories, based on a list of equipment published on the United Nations Global Marketplace (UNGM) portal last week. This initiative for a donation or a free loan is part of the IAEA’s efforts to modernize its nuclear applications laboratories through new partnerships in order to meet the evolving needs of Member States in the use of nuclear techniques in food and agriculture, human health and the environment.
Read more about the modernization project, including the status of new laboratory buildings, here.
The UNGM is a platform to bring together UN procurement staff and the vendor community, which the IAEA plans to use to build partnerships with suppliers who are interested in supporting the IAEA’s mission.
The IAEA has already established two such partnerships, with Varian Medical Systems as well as Shimadzu Corporation. Varian Medical Systems will provide a linear accelerator to the IAEA’s Dosimetry Laboratory while Shimadzu Corporation has donated a High-Speed Liquid Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer for research in food safety.
“Following agreements with two companies on new equipment for two of the laboratories, we are seeking further private sector support,” said IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano during an introductory statement to the IAEA Board of Governors on 5 March.
The IAEA is looking to obtain a wide variety of equipment for its nuclear applications laboratories, such as a pathogen testing facility for plant breeding and genetics research and a broad energy gamma detector for measuring radionuclides for soil erosion assessment and nuclear emergency response in food and agriculture.
“I am very delighted to hear that a list of required equipment items will be published on the United Nations Global Marketplace for manufacturers to express interest to provide the sought equipment under partnerships with the Agency,” said Resident Representative of Germany to the IAEA Friedrich Däuble in a joint statement on behalf of Germany and South Africa to the IAEA Board of Governors. “I encourage all Member States to highlight this opportunity to manufacturers in their countries.” Germany and South Africa are co-chairs of the Friends of ReNuAL, an informal group of Member States supporting the laboratory modernization.
The UNGM portal can be accessed here. It is not an IAEA requirement for suppliers to register with or submit their interest through the UNGM portal.
