In looking to the future, the presentation also highlights many of the challenges that lay ahead. It explores the critical roles to be played by government, the private sector, and civil society. And for the first time, it costs out what it will take to reach 100 million additional users of modern contraception by 2015—the aim of the Coalition’s HANDtoHAND Campaign. Whether you attended Access for All or not, don’t miss seeing this inspiring account of a truly remarkable decade in reproductive health. Please click the photo above to view the video.

The last six months have seen the Coalition increase access to affordable contraception by opening up discussions among the donor, procurer, and manufacturing communities. Such experience shows that even those accustomed to sitting across the negotiating table can, in a neutral space, achieve impressive results working side-by-side. This month, Bayer Pharma—a member of the Coalition since 2007—invited Julia Bunting (Coalition Chair), John Skibiak (Coalition Director), and Aron Betru (Pledge Guarantee for Health) to its Berlin headquarters. The three were presented with an overview of the company, along with a more detailed look at Bayer’s contraceptive product line, public-sector distribution figures, and procurement activities. From Bayer’s perspective, the meeting was an opportunity to explore the possibilities of collaboration with the Pledge Guarantee for Health and the role Bayer might play in ongoing efforts to operationalize the HANDtoHAND Campaign. Since the meeting, Bayer has met with representatives of CHAI (Clinton Health Access Initiative), which has provided technical assistance to the Secretariat in hosting discussions with manufacturers. For more information, please contact either Klaus Brill of Bayer or John Skibiak at the Coalition Secretariat.

This month, Ipas became the latest partner in the HANDtoHAND Campaign, a Coalition-led initiative aimed at rallying support for the UN Secretary General's Global Strategy for Women and Children’s Health. Since 2010, Coalition members have committed financial, programmatic, and policy support to reduce unmet need for modern family planning by 100 million additional users by 2015. In their letter to the Executive Committee, Executive Vice President Ann Leonard committed Ipas to providing modern contraception to at least 60 percent of women receiving services at Ipas intervention sites; provide technical assistance to local and national partners in the 26 countries where it works; and finally, to strengthen health systems in countries where it is programmatically active by providing technical assistance to ministries of health, health systems, and health care sites.

In October the Executive Committee will meet in Seattle for a three-day retreat to reflect upon the current global supplies and RH environment, assess new opportunities for change, and identify what role the Coalition ought to play in that process. Guest speakers will be invited to provide a more in-depth understanding of selected workstreams and suggest the potential they offer for adding value to both the Coalition's work and that of its members. Finally, the discussions will address resources and the donor community’s inclination to support a new and/or expanded agenda. A summary of the meeting will be shared in the October issue of SupplyInsider.

Since the start of 2011, 22 new members have joined the Coalition, four of which came on board just this month:

• Headquartered in Paris, HRA Pharma is a private pharmaceutical company that designs products, devices, and supporting services in niche areas of health. A pioneer in emergency contraception, HRA Pharma has forged a strong network of R&D, manufacturing, distribution, and NGO partners that allows it to improve patient health in more than 50 countries.
• Jhpiego is an international nonprofit health organization affiliated with The Johns Hopkins University. For more than 35 years, Jhpiego has worked with health experts, governments, and community leaders to provide high-quality services by training health care workers, strengthening health systems, and improving delivery of care.
• Established in 2005, CLACAI (Latin American Consortium against Unsafe Abortion) is a network of activists, researchers, service providers, and professionals united in their desire to reduce unsafe abortion in Latin America. CLACAI promotes access to information and modern, safe technologies within a sexual and reproductive health and rights framework and from a gender and equity perspective.
• Association Béninoise pour la Promotion de la Famille (ABPF) is Benin’s IPPF Member Association. For more than 38 years, ABPF has designed and implemented programmes that empower women, men, and particularly young people, with sexual and RH information and services.

The Resource Mobilization and Awareness Working Group (RMA WG) invites all interested Coalition members to join two new task forces being established to help the RMA WG address two components of its new workplan. The first task force seeks to encourage WHO to add language on RH, including family planning, to its upcoming Recommendations on Optimizing the Delivery of Key Interventions to Improve Maternal and Newborn Health through Task Shifting. The second task force will focus on the Priority Medicines for Mothers and Children 2011 list to advocate for the inclusion of contraceptive methods. Any interested Coalition members who wish to get involved, irrespective of their Working Group affiliation, are kindly requested to contact Lou Compernolle.

AccessRH continues processing orders: By the end of August, AccessRH had processed 49 orders for different RH commodities, including condoms from its own stock. This month also saw the UNFPA's Commodity Security Branch release US$4 million to AccessRH, thereby meeting its total US$10 million commitment pledged in 2010. This funding will be used to supplement condom stock and build an inventory of oral contraceptive pills. For more information, contact Karina Donnelly.

Coordinated Assistance for Reproductive Health Supplies (CARhs): In August, the CARhs responded to 15 requests for upcoming shipment information from 10 countries. Highlights include:

• Agreement to reach out to colleagues at IPPF and KfW to apprise them of country-specific issues related to contraceptive shortages.
• Resolution of lengthy clearance time for RH-related supplies in Mozambique.
• Continued coordination efforts between USAID and UNFPA in several countries to ensure shipments do not overlap, leading to over-supply and potential wastage.

Contact Joe Abraham for more information.

With support from the Coalition Secretariat, SECONAF (Sécurité contraceptive en Afrique Francophone), has opened a listserv on the WHO Knowledge Gateway. Members of the listserv can discuss contraceptive security in Francophone Africa and access relevant resources, including documents, meeting and conference minutes, and other information on events and projects in the region. To join the listserv and participate in the discussions, please click here. For more information on SECONAF and how to join, please contact Lou Compernolle or Gloria Castany.

13 Sept	MDA WG Teleconference
20 Sept	IMPLANON® Access Initiative Teleconference
20 Sept	Every Woman, Every Child, New York
4-5 Oct	EC Jamboree, New York
12 Oct	Caucus Teleconference
12-14 Oct	Executive Committee Meeting, Seattle
29 Nov–2 Dec	International Conference on Family Panning, Dakar

For more details on the above and other events, see the events calendar on the Coalition website.

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