All procurement activities are subject to review before the award of a contract in order to ensure compliance with applicable policies and procedures.
No commitment with any supplier can be made or will be honoured until the contract has been properly awarded, as per the provisions outlined in this chapter.
Review is the process that shall:
- establish compliance with the appropriate rules, regulations and procedures;
- ensure that reasonable justifications are in place in cases where procedures have not been followed; and
- ensure that the appropriate awarding authority is provided with all material information required to award a contract.
The award of a contract is the decision authorizing establishment of a contract with a selected supplier or individual contractor.
Contract value | Review | Award of contract |
Competitive process or Waiver < US$ 25 000 |
Respective officer with delegated financial and administrative authority | Based on the adjudication report and its annexes. Signed adjudication report represents the award of the contract. |
Competitive Process or Waiver ≥ US$ 25 000 but < US$ 100 000 |
Chief Financial Services, Risk Management & Compliance (FRC) | Based on the adjudication report and its annexes. Signed adjudication report represents the award of the contract. |
Competitive Process or Waiver ≥ US$ 100 000 but < US$ 200 000 |
Programme Review Committee (PRC) | Based on PRC submission form, adjudication report and their annexes. Signed decision note from the PRC represents the award of the contract. |
Competitive process or Waiver ≥ US$ 200 000 |
Contracts Review Committee in WHO (CRC) | Based on CRC submission form, adjudication report and their annexes. Signed decision note from CRC represents the award of the contract. |

Any contract amended by 20% or more from the last reviewed amount needs to be submitted for review by the appropriate body (depending on the contract’s cumulative value).
Contracts shall not be split into smaller value components to avoid review.
For details on the WHO Review Committee, please refer to WHO intranet.