RHSC helps shape conversation on COVID-19 and supplies

Director John Skibiak has called for new ways to adapt existing supply chains in order to head off the ravages COVID-19 is wreaking on RH supplies. Speaking to Devex, he envisioned a post-COVID world with wider use of telemedicine and more automated delivery of supplies, while in his interview for a Knowledge SUCCESS article, he predicted the rise of shorter supply chains and generic manufacturers, both offering “security in having supplies come in, literally, from next door.” In his blog hosted by Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, he called for alternative supply options where contraceptive choice is limited; new ways to deliver supplies and services in the face of social distancing; and greater flexibility in securing regulatory approval of new qualityassured products. Periods do not stop for pandemics, Advocacy Officer Charlotte Soulary reminded us, in her blog Access to Menstrual Health Supplies during COVID-19: what have we learnt?, which maps five ways to help mitigate COVID-19’s impact on menstrual health supply access. And in her Interview with the French Development Agency, Ms. Soulary warned that as access to supplies dwindles during the pandemic, the up to 1 million projected unwanted pregnancies would lead to more unsafe abortions, more healthcare costs, and more women dying.

Categories: COVID-19, Advocacy and Accountability Working Group