Skip to main content
. 2024 Feb 15;16(2):e54258. doi: 10.7759/cureus.54258

Table 2. COO of medical products supplied to the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority in 2015-16 grouped by product ‘super-categories’ and ranked by order of value of contracts (value in Euros, €).

Countries supplying <2.5% of the value of contracts for that ‘super-category’ are not shown. COO is mapped to the 2016 ITUC country rating for labour rights risk [11], with an ITUC rating of 4, 5, or 5+ equated to a high-risk of labour abuse

COO: country of origin, ITUC: International Trade Union Confederation

Product super-category Percentage of total purchasing % (value in €) COO Value of contract (€) Percentage of the total value of super-category (%) ITUC rating (2016) Percentage of purchasing where COO not declared % (value in €) Percentage of purchasing where COO is declared with a high-risk of labour abuse % (value in €)
Cannulae, catheters, and balloons 12.2 (15,296,728) USA 2,350,155 15.4 4 52.8 (8,071,637) 41.0 (2,962,727)
Singapore 1,026,721 6.7 3
Germany 791,104 5.2 1
Ireland 711,654 4.7 2
Japan 617,749 4.0 2
Hungary 388,722 2.5 3
Cement and scaffolds 0.9 (1,116,235) France 122,501 11.0 1 86.9 (969,748) 2.8 (4,066)
Electrical devices 9.4 (11,824,629) USA 2,316,909 19.6 4 51.0 (6,029,446) 47.3 (2,741,339)
Costa Rica 2,270,162 19.2 2
Germany 783,681 6.6 1
Mexico 424,429 3.6 4
Electrical peripherals and attachments 7.5 (9,419,939) USA 3,212,528 34.1 4 43.3 (4,082,178) 78.0 (4,163,321)
Poland 868,808 9.2 4
Germany 764,770 8.1 1
Gloves 3.2 (3,962,190) Malaysia 2,816,014 71.1 4 6.5 (257,844) 82.3 (3,046,988)
Austria 657,358 16.6 1
Thailand 228,567 5.8 4
Liquids, sprays, and gels 0.9 (1,078,793) Portugal 217,327 20.1 2 28.8 (310,488) 32.3 (247,953)
USA 164,559 15.3 4
Denmark 148,920 13.8 1
Puerto Rico 83,157 7.7 4
UK 59,068 5.5 3
Switzerland 50,874 4.7 2
Germany 40,938 3.8 1
Metal implants 18.9 (23,668,647) USA 6,882,686 29.1 4 49.1 (11,612,682) 58.1 (6,974,394)
France 2,541,637 10.7 1
Ireland 862,379 3.6 2
Switzerland 590,019 2.5 2
Germany 578,366 2.4 1
Metal instruments 2.5 (3,088,575) USA 470,645 15.2 4 56.3 (1,737,362) 57.7 (780,391)
Japan 309,658 10.0 2
Germany 160,941 5.2 1
Malaysia 155,074 5.0 4
Poland 106,580 3.5 4
Multi-material products and miscellaneous 8.5 (10,584,943) USA 2,390,187 22.6 4 47.4 (5,012,078) 49.7 (2,767,801)
Dominican Republic 101,6301 9.6 2
Spain 859,242 8.1 3
Japan 296,900 2.8 2
Needles 1.0 (1,241,097) USA 243,316 19.6 4 66.0 (819,136) 71.6 (302,312)
Japan 83,904 6.8 2
Mexico 58,995 4.8 4
Non-metallic implants 4.0 (4,969,816) France 692,041 13.9 1 60.5 (3,008,528) 37.9 (742,554)
USA 690,079 13.9 4
Switzerland 248,949 5.0 2
Germany 165,014 3.3 1
Non-sheet plastic 8.6 (10,744,866) USA 1,115,132 10.4 4 40.0 (4,294,371) 33.2 (2,142,338)
France 825,457 7.7 1
Germany 745,289 6.9 1
Finland 533,279 5.0 1
Switzerland 481,233 4.5 2
Portugal 454,265 4.2 2
Canada 438,468 4.1 2
Malaysia 347,865 3.2 4
The Philippines 346,912 3.2 5
Plastic sheets, films, and bags 1.7 (2,164,665) Mexico 520,853 24.1 4 29.3 (634,795) 53.2 (814,336)
UK 244,660 11.3 3
Germany 182,740 8.4 1
USA 168,664 7.8 4
Slovakia 148,964 6.9 1
Dominican Republic 89,070 4.1 2
China 76,464 3.5 5
Procedure packs and multi-component products 7.0 (8,821,407) Czech Republic 2,105,346 23.9 2 42.2 (3,720,874) 6.7 (339,481)
Ireland 840,147 9.5 2
Hungary 696,633 7.9 3
Portugal 465,183 5.3 2
France 264,940 3.0 1
Sweden 217,862 2.5 1
Textiles 5.5 (6,842,401) China 2,439,147 35.6 5 20.2 (1,383,064) 59.1 (3,225,590)
Canada 807,812 11.8 2
Sweden 536,800 7.8 1
Cambodia 423,026 6.2 5
Mexico 267,741 3.9 4
Germany 225,584 3.3 1
UK 192,394 2.8 3
Switzerland 168,985 2.5 2
Wires and stents 5.4 (6,801,498) USA 868,533 12.8 4 46.7 (3,179,236) 44.6 (1,614,037)
Costa Rica 806,685 11.9 2
Thailand 539,799 7.9 4
Ireland 488,399 7.2 2
Japan 295,671 4.3 2
Germany 286,097 4.2 1
Wound dressings 2.9 (3,623,426) UK 702,272 19.4 3 20.9 (756,331) 39.4 (1,128,733)
USA 638,456 17.6 4
China 467,321 12.9 5
Finland 359,788 9.9 1
Switzerland 180,143 5.0 2
Germany 167,745 4.6 1
Costa Rica 156,818 4.3 2