Coalition Director connects SRH supplies and Universal Health Coverage in keynote address

This month, Coalition Director John Skibiak made key recommendations for South-South cooperation to improve universal access to reproductive health (RH) supplies. Delivering his keynote address in Tunis to the 16th International Inter-Ministerial Conference on South-South Cooperation in Population and Development, Mr. Skibiak spelt out three distinct ways forward; he called on the community to (1) recognize the value of SRHR within the broader Universal Health Coverage (UHC) agenda, (2) include SRHR within essential health benefits packages, and (3) garner the evidence base to strengthen the systems on which UHC efforts depend.

Drawing from the rich data in the recently-published Commodity Gap Analysis 2019, Mr. Skibiak mapped sources and amounts of expenditure on contraceptives and looked ahead at cost and access implications for the coming decade. He also shared two flagship data visibility models developed under Coalition auspices: SEPREMI, a business intelligence tool, and the Global Family Planning Visibility & Analytics Network which aggregates, shares and aligns country demand data with production, procurement and funding to avoid stock imbalances and maximize the use of limited resources.  Mr. Skibiak’s presentation can be found here.