 |
Health Notes
Working Towards Contraceptive Security in Latin America and the Caribbean
Contraceptive security is said to exist when individuals
are able to choose, obtain, and use contraceptives and condoms
whenever they need them. As a result of USAID plans to redistribute
family planning resources worldwide, a gradual phase-out of
USAID contraceptive donations to some Latin American and Caribbean
countries will take place over the next several years. The
timeframe for the phase-out will vary from country to country.
To support the phase-out in a way that achieves contraceptive
security, the Regional
Contraceptive Security Report for Latin America and the Caribbean
(PDF, 469 KB) recommends that countries:
- Develop comprehensive contraceptive security plans and phase-out schedules agreed upon by the government, USAID, other donors, and the private sector.
- Ensure government budget line items and increased budget support for contraceptives.
- Conduct market segmentation analyses to determine the share of the contraceptive market supported by the private and public sectors
- Implement plans to help target subsidized and free contraceptives by the public sector to those who cannot afford them.
- Mobilize the commercial sector to meet the family planning needs of those who can afford to pay for their contraceptives.
- In the short-term, identify procurement mechanisms, such as purchasing contraceptives through United Nations agencies, that allow countries to access lower international prices than are currently commercially available
- In the longer-term develop procurement plans that identify affordable sources of contraceptives.
- Carefully integrate and continue to strengthen contraceptive logistics by ensuring that the staff who manage contraceptives at all levels of the supply chain have the proper training, the right tools, and are supervised regularly.
- Promote reproductive health and contraceptive security as essential aspects of economic development.
Beginning in the summer of 2003, USAID's Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) began a regional effort to improve contraceptive security. The first step was a workshop held in July 2003 in Managua, Nicaragua, with more than 70 representatives of governments, non-governmental organizations and USAID from nine Latin American countries to start planning for how to more effectively address and strengthen contraceptive security in LAC. Country assessments were then carried out in Bolivia, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Peru, and additional data analysis was conducted for El Salvador and Guatemala. Authored by the DELIVER and POLICY projects, the Regional Contraceptive Security Report for Latin America details the results of these assessments and makes recommendations for regional contraceptive security initiatives.
The report was presented in October, 2004 at a USAID-sponsored Latin America and Caribbean regional contraceptive security forum in Lima, Peru, which was attended by policymakers from Ministries of Health and social security institutes, other government leaders, representatives of International Planned Parenthood Federation affiliates from Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru and local staff from USAID, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). The forum's participants drafted country action plans and regional strategies covering four thematic areas including: Procurement and Pricing; Logistics Systems; Market Segmentation and Targeting; and Political Commitment and Leadership, all aimed at working towards achieving contraceptive security.
More Information
Summaries of the in-depth assessments carried out in Bolivia
(PDF, 311KB), Honduras
(PDF, 316 KB), Nicaragua
(PDF, 345 KB), Paraguay
(PDF, 296 KB) , and Peru
are available on the USAID, DELIVER
and POLICY
web sites. Also available on the web are papers recently produced
on contraceptive security issues in several Latin American
and Caribbean countries, including:
» Return
to Latin America & Caribbean Health Section
Date posted:
February 20, 2008
|
