Ensuring access to condoms, contraceptives, and other essentials

What if a woman who did not want a baby couldn’t find birth control pills?

What if a man who wanted to protect his partner from infection wasn’t able to get a supply of condoms?

These situations are a daily reality for people around the world as developing countries face shortages of sexual and reproductive health supplies. Poor supply-chain management and stagnant financial resources contribute to the problem. Demand for condoms, contraceptives, essential medicines, and other supplies are growing, and governments must sift through a range of options to be sure they are purchasing the best products at the lowest prices.

With our more than three decades of experience in international procurement, PATH is working with low-resource countries to be sure they can meet the reproductive health needs of their populations. We provide a toolkit to help health officials improve the supply of products; we offer guidance on where and how to buy safe, high-quality supplies; and we tap into the expertise of more than 80 global agencies and organizations that can help developing nations get the supplies they need even when faced with emergency shortages.

Without critical reproductive health provisions, women and men face unwanted pregnancies, dangerous abortions, the risk of sexually transmitted infection, and other challenges to their reproductive health. We’re working to make sure everyone can access the tools they need for improved health.

Photo: Courtesy of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.