|
Seeking
nominations for Co-Chair and Southern representation
At its October meeting, the Executive
Committee called for the establishment of a sub-committee to oversee the
nomination of candidates for key governance posts on the Executive
Committee. These posts include one Co-Chair position, which will fall
vacant in April 2008, and a new seat designated for the representative of a
southern or South-South regional network. In accordance with the
Coalition's new membership and governance policy, representatives of any
member organization are eligible for these posts. Terms are for two
years--in the case of the Co-Chair, a one-year extension is allowed. Contact the Secretariat for more information or to submit
nominations.
Securing
the Coalition's future
A key objective of the Coalition's
Strategic Plan is to ensure the sustainability of the Coalition and its
added value. To that end, the Secretariat has contracted former GAVI
Alliance senior staff member, Bo Stenson, to develop a multi-year financial
sustainability plan. The plan will address the sustainability of the
Secretariat and the RHInterchange (RHI) and the feasibility of an
independent fund through which other strategic opportunities might be
pursued.
Formerly with Swedish SIDA, Stenson brings
a wealth of first-hand experience, having served as Acting Deputy Executive
Secretary for the GAVI Alliance. He is also currently developing a
strategic and sustainability plan for the Partnership for Maternal, Child
and Newborn Health. Stenson will review and synthesize relevant experience
from other health partnerships; and will conduct interviews with Coalition
members. In October, Stenson travelled to Brussels, where he met with the
Co-Chairs, Secretariat staff, and other Coalition partners based in
Brussels. The final report will be submitted to the Executive Committee in
February 2008. Contact the Secretariat for more details.
Next
membership meeting scheduled for week of 19 May in Brussels
The European Commission and Secretariat
have selected the week of May 19 for next year's membership meeting. The
selection of this date was based on member feedback from the last
membership meeting evaluation survey, a review of the calendar for
potentially conflicting events, and general feedback from the Executive
Committee. The exact days of general membership and Executive Committee
sessions will be determined in December and communicated in next month's
newsletter.
European
Commission releases study on commodity security
The European Commission (EC) has released
the results of a major study on Reproductive Health Commodity Security
(RHCS). The 68-page report offers a technical analysis of the global supply
challenge, outlines key recommendations for EC policy formulation, and
identifies strategies for effective and sustainable RHCS policies and
procedures among EC partner countries. The analysis also draws on two case
studies from India and Mozambique.
Readers of the report will find many
parallels (and references) to work carried out by Coalition partners. For
example, it emphasizes support for the concept of pooled/revolving funds
for commodity procurement, expanded public-private partnerships,
application of Total Market Approaches, acceleration of the
pre-qualification programme, and the active involvement of civil society. A
copy of the study is available here.
Coalition
participates in francophone virtual conference
Coalition Director, John Skibiak, was one
of 10 presenters at the 2nd Virtual Conference on Repositioning Family
Planning. Sponsored by USAID, KfW, DSW, and MSH, the web-based forum drew
some 300 participants from more than 30 countries--20 in Africa alone.
In his presentation, John described the
Coalition's role in ensuring RH supply security, the key challenges
underlying its three strategic goals, and its relevance to Francophone
Africa. The presentation drew responses from 15 participants, whose
questions touched on such areas as the sustainability of international
supply efforts, the role of price subsidies, the need for advocacy at country
level, managing the demands of vertical health partnerships, and
encouraging local ownership of the supply chain. The presentation,
questions, and responses will remain available for viewing online until the end of December.
PPD
welcomes the Coalition to its Rabat Membership Meeting
John Skibiak joined country delegates from
around the world at the Partners in Population and Development's (PPD) 12th
Annual Board and Membership meeting in Rabat, Morocco. Highlighting supply
security as one of PPD's five organizational priorities, participants
praised a recent initiative by China to provide US$6 million in RH
supplies, equipment, and training to six PPD members, including Kenya and
Uganda, in the next three years. China also announced its intention to
convene a meeting next year of financial ministers and parliamentarians to
discuss South-South investments in population and RH.
The meeting concluded with the adoption of
a Declaration that reiterated PPD's commitment to expanded access to
high-quality generic supplies and their desire for greater collaboration
with WHO, UNFPA, and the Coalition. Contact Harry Joosery for more details.
Pharmaceutical
industry to improve supply chain
Coalition Technical Officer Steve Kinzett joined representatives
of more than 20 pharmaceutical and logistics firms, donors, and technical
agencies to explore ways for the
private sector to improve access to essential medicines in low- and
middle-income (LMI) countries. Convened by the International Federation of
Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), participants at the one-day event agreed on the outlines of a
new initiative to strengthen
supply systems for all commodities, shorten "plant to patient" time, and
achieve sustainable, long-term impact. Next steps will be to choose pilot
countries and finalize the design of training, logistics management, and
other commercial and quality assurance activities.
This initiative parallels interest within
the Coalition's Market Development Approaches (MDA) WG in integrating
supply chain management in the private sector, and links well with the
growing dialogue between the WG and RH commodity manufacturers. For further
details, contact Steve Kinzett.
Coalition
meets Interagency Pharmaceutical Coordination Group
Carolyn Hart of JSI represented the
Coalition at the November 13 meeting of the Interagency Pharmaceutical
Coordination (IPC) Group. Convened by WHO's Essential Medicines team, the
IPC comprises UN-implementing agencies and related multilateral
organizations such as WHO, PAHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNDP, UNIDO, World Bank,
Global Fund, and UNITAID. Typically, IPC meetings focus on information-sharing
with a wide focus on "medicines," including policy and regulatory aspects,
standards, procurement and supply chain management, product development,
market forces, donor initiatives, health systems, and R&D.
Delegates meet semi-annually for two days,
the first of which is open to invited organizations involved in
pharmaceutical management. This time, invited guests included the
Coalition, Management Sciences for Health (MSH), JSI, and the PEPFAR/Supply
Chain Management System (SCMS). Each gave 10-minute presentations on their
work and addressed questions about their priorities, current activities,
and general policy direction for the next two to five years. For more
details, contact Carolyn Hart.
|
