Coalition welcomes Dr. John Townsend as new Chair

The Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition is delighted to announce our new Chair: Dr. John Townsend, Vice-President and Director of the Population Council's Reproductive Health program. Dr. Townsend takes the mantle from Dr. Marleen Temmerman who ended her term on 8 October 2015 at the Coalition’s 16th General Membership Meeting in Oslo, Norway.

“I am thrilled to welcome my old friend,” said Dr. Temmerman in a video message to the plenary meeting. “It had to be somebody who knew the territory, who had not just forged strong relationships with the key players but also had a deep, intuitive understanding of the issues we grapple with.”

In his inaugural speech, Dr. Townsend promised to listen to his colleagues and partners as an important part of his preparation to chair the world’s largest network of reproductive health supplies organizations.

Dr. Townsend oversees research focused on three core areas: basic biomedical studies and the development of male and female contraceptives; social science research to identify causes of poor sexual and reproductive health outcomes; and research on the development, scale-up, financing, and sustainability of service-delivery models.