DATA & TOOLS
VAN Reproductive Health Supplies Visualizer (VAN RHViz)
Public Access
The VAN Reproductive Health Supplies Visualizer (VAN RHViz) is a series of public dashboards that aggregate and visualize order and shipment data from the Global Family Planning Visibility and Analytics Network (VAN). By combining historical procurement records with live shipment data, VAN RHViz keeps information current and accessible to the SRH community.
On this page:
What the Tool Enables
Visibility into contraceptive shipment data from the VAN and historical sources by year, country, method, and funder—spanning 2008 to present.
Single Year Dashboard
Interactive dashboard providing views by country, funder, and method for a single year showing: USD value of shipment, quantity of shipments, method mix of shipments as couple-years of protection (CYP).
Trends (Past Five Years) Dashboard
Interactive dashboard providing views by country, funder, and method over the previous five years from the latest data showing: USD value of shipments, quantity of shipments, method mix of shipments as CYP.
Country & Funder Comparison Dashboard
Interactive dashboard providing comparisons of shipment data across funders and countries and showing the following views: (1) value of shipments for single year [in USD] — compared across funders; (2) quantity of shipments for single year — compared across funders; (3) method mix of shipments as CYPs over five years — compared across countries.
How Can VAN RHViz Help You?
Key Features
Answers critical questions about contraceptive procurement, such as: What is the value or quantity of contraceptives shipped to countries? How have shipment values and quantities changed over time? Which funders are providing contraceptives in which countries?
Filter by country, funder, contraceptive method, and time frame using intuitive drop-down menus, letting users build custom views that answer their specific questions about reproductive health supply flows.
Three dashboard tabs let users view shipment data for a single year, track five-year trends, or directly compare values, quantities, and method mix across funders and countries.
Export underlying data to Excel for your own analysis, or download any dashboard view as an image or PDF for inclusion in reports, presentations, and advocacy materials.
How to Use & Access
Select data from the available dashboards to personalize views and analyses.
How have shipment values and quantities changed over time?
Which funders are providing what proportions of different contraceptives (by country, by year)?
How can I download the VAN RHViz dataset to create my own visualizations?
About the Data
There are two main data sources feeding the dashboards:
- Current VAN procurer shipment orders from January 1, 2017, forward.
- Historical procurer shipment data from 2008 through December 31, 2016, archived in the VAN from the previous RH Interchange tool. The historical data contains information about historical contraceptive shipment orders that come from the central procurement offices of major contraceptive donors and other organizations that procure contraceptives. The data includes the following information about shipments: contraceptive methods, funding source, recipient country, shipment date, quantity of product, and equivalent couple-years of protection.
Note: The historical data through 2016 was based on organizations submitting their shipment data, and the organizations that submitted data in that time frame changed over time. As a result, data over the years 2008 to 2016 may not have been a full picture of all shipments. This also means care should be taken when making comparisons over multiple years.
Methodology
Data from 2017 onward is shipment data from the VAN. Not all of this data is available at all stages of the order and shipment process and may therefore have a lag from what is available in the VAN at a point in time. Receipt Date is completed depending on the availability of dates in the underlying data, according to the following:
- When all data is available, the Receipt Date reflects the Actual Time of Arrival (ATA).
- When the ATA is not available, the Receipt Date reflects the Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA).
- When neither the Actual Time of Arrival (ATA) nor the Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) is available, the Receipt Date reflects the PO Due Date.
Note for UNFPA shipments: When the actual Receipt Date of a shipment is not known, it is estimated by adding four weeks to the Send Date. It is not explicitly indicated in the RHI data when this estimate is made; however, it can be inferred when the Send and Receipt Dates are 28 days apart.
Disclaimer
VAN RHViz aggregates data from multiple data providers who own their datasets. VAN RHViz does not manipulate the information provided by the data providers. Therefore, neither RHSC nor PATH as manager of the RHSC Secretariat assume responsibility for the data and do not warrant the completeness and/or accuracy of the data and shall not be liable whatsoever for any damages incurred as a result of its use.
Key Terms and Definitions
The list and table below provide details on the key terms and data types reflected in VAN RHViz.
Key Terms and Definitions
The list and table below provide details on the key terms and data types reflected in VAN RHViz.
Funder
Funder refers to the source of funds to procure the goods. The historical 2008–2016 data reflects all of UNFPA and USAID’s contraceptive purchases. For IPPF and MSI, the historical data displays procurements carried out centrally (i.e., not carried out by individual country programs). For all other Funders, the historical data contains only purchases carried out by procuring organizations who were data providers at the time of RHI.
The funder is captured in the historical data based on information submitted by data providers. In some cases, the funder in the data provider’s underlying data is held in such a way that it cannot be transmitted to, and shown in, the historical data.
Date
There are various dates in the underlying data that relate to deliveries:
| Date | Explanation |
|---|---|
| PO Due Date | The date that was agreed as the shipment date with the supplier |
| ETD | Estimated Time of Departure (from Port of Origin) |
| ATD | Actual Time of Departure (from Port of Origin) |
| ETA | Estimated Time of Arrival (at Port of Destination) |
| ATA | Actual Time of Arrival (at Port of Destination) |
When all data is available, the Receipt Date reflects the Actual Time of Arrival (ATA).
When the ATA is not available, the Receipt Date reflects the Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA).
When neither the Actual Time of Arrival (ATA) nor the Estimated
Time of Arrival (ETA) is available, the Receipt Date reflects the PO Due Date.
Note for UNFPA shipments: When the actual Receipt Date of a shipment is not known, it is estimated by adding four weeks to the Send Date. It is not explicitly indicated in the RHI data when this estimate is made; however, it can be inferred when the Send and Receipt dates are 28 days apart.
Country/region
This refers to the country of final destination. The full list of countries and regions included in the dataset are listed here.
Contraceptive method
The RHI contains information on the following commodity categories:
- Standard Days Method
- Barrier methods (female and male condoms, spermicide, diaphragm)
- Oral contraceptive pills (combined and progesterone only)
- Emergency contraceptive pills
- Injectables
- Implants
- IUDs
Examples of commodities not captured include medical devices, medical equipment, maternal health medicines, and emergency kits.
Quantity
The number of units included in each shipment order. Quantity is reported according to the smallest dispensing units for all methods, such as:
- Condoms, Standard Days Method CycleBeads, implants, injectables, and IUDs are numbers of pieces
- Oral contraceptive pills are numbers of cycles
- Emergency contraceptive pills are numbers of doses
Value
Value is the USD value of the contraceptive units being shipped. The value for all data providers is harmonized to represent the total landed cost for the commodity provided (i.e., product unit price, shipping, insurance, any related testing, fees, etc.). All RHI values are in US dollars.
CYP
Couple-years of protection (CYP) is a measure to calculate on average how many years of protection from pregnancy each method provides to one couple, taking into account method failure rates and discontinuation. The following CYP conversion factors were used and are based on USAID’s conversion factors:
| Intrauterine Device | 4.6 CYP per device |
| Implantable Contraceptives | 3.2 CYP per implant |
| Emergency Contraception | 20 doses per CYP |
| Standard Days Method | 1.5 per trained adopter |
| Oral Contraceptives | 15 cycles per CYP |
| Condoms (Male and Female) | 120 units per CYP |
| Injectables | 5 doses per CYP |
What Our Members Say
VAN members praise the platform for its ease of use, its accessibility, and its cutting-edge data.
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“Thanks to our collaboration with partners on the VAN, we identified a potential overstock of 650,000 units of injectables. We worked with WAHO and the United Nations Population Fund to split orders.”
Bentoe Tehoungue
Director, Family Health Program, Ministry of Health, Liberia
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“The VAN has helped Rwanda boost supply chain data accuracy, allowed for timely reconciliation of inventory data, and improved inventory analysis and family planning stock visibility status, which helps us prevent waste.”
Jean Claude Kabera
Senior Supply Chain Specialist, Rwanda Biomedical Centre
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“Once you know the VAN, it becomes difficult to do without it. It’s like a pilot of an airplane struggling when the lights on his dashboard stop working.”
Dr. Abram Amétépé Agossou
Director of Maternal and Child Health, Togo Ministry of Health
Quick Actions
VAN RHViz
Access the VAN RHViz here and see our data in action.
Learn more about the VAN
The VAN is the source of VAN RHViz data, and you can learn more about the collaborative supply chain platform here.
Have Questions About the Tool?
If you have questions about the VAN RHViz data or the dashboards, please reach out to us.