Africa should look within for reproductive health supplies-Smith
By Christabel Oboshie ANNAN & Zeenatu ABUBAKAR, Accra
Director for Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition (RHSC), Mr Martyn Smith, has identified domestic resource mobilisation as one element missing in the African Region as far as procurement for Reproductive Health Supplies are concerned.
He stated that there needs to be a sense of realism about how fast countries can move in providing domestic resources for Reproductive Health Supplies.
He added that there’s the need to support countries in the transition of funding for reproductive health supplies.
He mentioned Kenya as one of the countries that have been able to make strides towards covering the entire cost of reproductive health supplies by 2030.
Mr Smith said this at the General Membership Meeting of the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition under the theme ‘Resilience.’
The RHSC brought its members together to examine the impact of COVID-19 on funding for reproductive health supplies, related markets and supply chains as well as consider lessons that can be learnt from how the sector responded, and celebrate its unique resilience.
He noted that another element missing in the African Region while recovering from COVID-19 in procuring reproductive health supplies to its citizens is the heavy taxation imposed on Menstrual Health Products.
Apart from this, he stated that there is a lack of access to quality menstrual health products.
“Regional manufacturing of reproductive health supplies has been a big talk in coming out of the pandemic,” he stressed.
He underscored the need for countries to understand that it is going to take a lot of small steps to manufacture high quality reproductive health supply at a very good unit cost to be supplied to the continent.
“We need to get the right steps in infrastructure, quality regulation, financing and political will, to make these things happen,” he added.
The Head of Bilateral Resource Mobilisation, Dr Maureen Martey, said that recognising access to reproductive health products is more than a health objective for Ghana but an unequivocal human right.
She stated that as a result of this, it has become the duty of government to equip every citizen with the tools to make informed family choices and ensure that they reach essential healthcare and cultivate fulfilling lives.
“Investing in reproductive health is more than mere policy initiative; it is a deliberate stride towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to reflect government’s commitment to gender, health and equitable prosperity,” she explained.
Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition
Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition is the world’s largest network of reproductive health organizations with nearly 600 member agencies from the public, commercial, and not-for-profit sectors.
The RHSC works to ensure that all people are able to access and use affordable and quality reproductive health supplies, including a broad choice of contraceptive methods.
The General Membership Meeting was co-hosted by the Ghana Health Service, nearly 300 of the world’s leaders and experts in reproductive health supplies (contraceptives, menstrual supplies, maternal health supplies, and more) came together for five days in Accra to discuss the future of access to these lifesaving products.
