Recorded presentation

Jeffrey Sine, MPH, PhD, The Futures Group International, 1050 17th St. NW, Washington, DC 20036 and Jeffrey C. Sanderson, Country Team Leader, The DELIVER Project, John Snow Incorporated, 1616 N. Fort Myer Drive, 11th Floor, Arlington, VA 22209, 703-528-7474, jsanders@jsi.com.

In 1993, policymakers in Ethiopia set an ambitious goal of raising the national contraceptive prevalence rate from 4 to 44 percent by 2015. By 2000, prevalence had grown to only 8 percent. Meanwhile, unmet need for family planning among married women of reproductive age stands at 36 percent. This is but one indication of the limited progress made in Ethiopia the past decade towards reproductive health (RH) commodity security. A long list of impediments to reproductive health commodity security has been identified but progress in addressing them has been slow. One factor inhibiting progress has been the absence of a strategic approach. A group of key stakeholders determined that attempting to address all issues simultaneously reduces the prospects of successfully resolving any of them. Working through the National RH Task Force, they decided to launch a policy dialogue process to prioritize issues and challenges, and to direct attention first to the highest priority issues. The prioritization process began with structured assessments of key dimensions of SPARHCS, a conceptual framework for RH commodity security. The process culminated in a three-day national dialogue conference, resulting in identification of four high priority issues to be addressed immediately. Those issues are: lack of high-level political support for RH programs, inadequate financing for RH programs and services, poorly performing contraceptive logistics and management information systems, and low quality of services.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to (
• articulate barriers to RH commodity security and (
• describe one approach to using the SPARHCS framework in an applied setting to promote dialogue, decision making, and action to address those barriers.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation