PRIVATE SECTOR
The private sector has an important role to play in the FP2020 movement. As market-based drivers of innovation, private sector entities are uniquely positioned to help bring contraceptive products and services to millions of women and girls with unmet need. Robust private sector participation in family planning contributes to an expanding base of users, more efficient distribution networks and flexible partnerships that support new approaches.
When diverse partners unite to achieve a common goal, we believe we will make important progress. By harnessing the power of collaboration to expand and improve family planning programs, FP2020 will change the lives of millions of girls and women.
Kathy Calvin
President and Chief Executive Officer, United Nations Foundation
FEMALE HEALTH COMPANY
The Female Health Company is the manufacturer of the FC2 female condom. At the 2012 London Summit on Family Planning, the Female Health Company committed to providing public sector purchasers with free product, equal to 5% of their total annual units purchased. The company also pledged to invest up to US$14 million over the next six years in reproductive health and HIV/AIDS prevention education and training, in collaboration with global agencies.
The Female Health Company fully realized the first component of its commitment in 2012–2014, providing free goods equal to 5% of aggregate public sector units of the FC2 female condoms. The company’s SUPPORT team provides programming and training on the use of FC2 and is working with local partners in Brazil, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe to develop country-specific programs.
In Kenya, for example, SUPPORT has partnered with the Muthaa Community Development Foundation (MCDF), a nongovernmental organization, to develop training and educational materials tailored specifically to the country. More than 500 staff members at health facilities, NGOs, CBOs, and student and government offices have been trained in the use and benefits of the FC2 female condom since the beginning of the year. The Female Health Company shipped 1.4 million FC2 female condoms to Kenya in the fourth quarter of FY2014 through UNFPA, reflecting the success of in-country programming efforts.
MERCK FOR MOTHERS
Merck for Mothers is Merck’s 10-year, US$500 million initiative to reduce maternal mortality globally. Family planning is a key strategy within this initiative, given its potential to reduce maternal mortality by a third through addressing unmet need. In partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Merck formed an eight-year, US$50 million collaboration to expand access to family planning.
Merck has partnered with IntraHealth and the Senegalese Ministry of Health and Social Action to expand an innovative distribution model for contraceptive supplies (the Informed Push Model). This three-year partnership is strengthening the supply chain for family planning products and supporting the government’s family planning goals to increase the contraceptive prevalence rate from 12% to 27%.
In India and Uganda, Merck is integrating postpartum family planning services into its maternal health programs to help women space their pregnancies. Merck is working with partners to develop training curricula for private providers, to integrate family planning services through telemedicine and to train health care providers in franchise networks on comprehensive care.
Merck also focuses on broadening the range of service delivery points that offer a mix of family planning options and quality, client-centered care. In Rajasthan, India, Merck and Hindustan Latex and Family Planning Promotion Trust are growing a network of community health workers to help increase access to maternal health services and family planning products for low-income women in urban and rural areas.
The Merck for Mothers Global Giving Program amplifies the reach of the Merck for Mothers initiative by supporting local projects to improve maternal health and access to family planning. In Indonesia, Merck supports the Project HOPE initiative to provide women who work in factories with information on family planning and referrals to external health services. In South Africa, Merck is supporting a capacity-building project to integrate family planning services with primary health care.
