A new partnership announced Wednesday at the United
Nations will make a safe, effective, long-acting, reversible method of
contraception available to more than 27 million women in the world's poorest
nations. The device, pre-qualified by the World Health Organization (WHO),
provides effective contraception for five years.
Under the agreement, Bayer is reducing by more than half
the current 18 USD price of its long-acting, reversible method of
contraception, Jadelle, in return for a commitment to assure funding for at
least 27 million contraceptive devices over the next six years. The agreement
will be effective starting January 2013.
The new partnership is a joint effort of the Clinton
Health Access Initiative, the Governments of Norway, the United Kingdom, the US
and Sweden, The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, other groups and the
German pharmaceutical firm Bayer HealthCare AG, which is the manufacturer of
the contraceptive device.
At present, more than 200 million women and girls in
developing countries who do not want to get pregnant have no access to modern
contraceptives and family planning services.
Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg of Norway and President
Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria are co-chairs of the UN Commission on Life-Saving
Commodities for Women and Children. They have worked together with
international experts to provide this life-saving contraceptive.
When fully implemented, the partnership will avert more
than 280,000 child and 30,000 maternal deaths due to improved birth spacing and
by avoiding other problems such as preterm births. According to the WHO,
waiting at least 2-3 years between pregnancies reduces infant and child
mortality and benefits maternal health.
The partnership is expected to avert almost 30 million
unwanted pregnancies from 2013 to 2018 and will save an estimated 250 million
USD in global health costs.
The Bayer contraceptive device is inserted into the inner
side of the upper arm. It consists of two plastic rods, each about the size of
a matchstick, which contain long acting, slow-release progestogen and provides
safe and effective protection against pregnancy. It is suitable for almost all
women and is also safe for women who are breastfeeding.
This simple procedure can be done by trained health
workers - nurses, midwives - and provides effective contraception for five
years. The rods can be removed at any time a woman wants her fertility
restored.
“These contraceptive devices are a very cost effective
means of contraception and they are ideal for women in rural areas, who must
often travel miles by foot to reach health clinics,” says President Jonathan of
Nigeria.
"As we have seen time and time again, providing
women in developing countries with safe and affordable medical
treatment options not only has a substantial impact on individual lives, but on
entire societies," said President Bill Clinton. "I am pleased that my
Foundation worked successfully alongside our partners to help reduce the cost
governments must dedicate to family planning measures, as well as help address
the many challenges women face when they have limited access to medical
options."
“Innovation is the key to our commercial success and at
the same time the basis of our social commitment,” says Dr. Jörg Reinhardt,
Chief Executive Officer of Bayer HealthCare AG. “That’s why we invest
significantly in research and development of new treatment options. We want as
many people as possible to share this progress--regardless of their income or
where they live.”
Surveys show that about 600 million women in the
developing world use some form of contraception, but only 1-2 percent of them
have these types of long-acting, modern devices. Those surveys also show that
as many as 20 percent would prefer them, if they were available.
The UK’s International Development Secretary Justine
Greening says: “It is very welcome news that this agreement has been reached. I
congratulate the partners on their work to make it happen. It shows just how
the commitments made in July at the London Summit on Family Planning are making
a real change to women across the world, providing access to family planning
and contraception to 120 million additional women in the world's poorest
countries by 2020.”
The new partnership should remove some of the barriers to
family planning by providing health workers with training and counseling in
family planning and ensuring that the now affordable modern contraception will
be available.
“This is a catalytic and groundbreaking partnership. The
initiative will lower the unit price of these devices substantially, which will
have a profound impact on the well-being of women and girls globally, says
Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, Director General of the Swedish International
Development Cooperation Agency.”
The partnership will focus on the world's poorest
countries. These countries have also been targeted by the UN Secretary
General's Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health. They are the
least likely to meet the 2015 Millennium Development Goals set by the UN
General Assembly in 1990 to reduce the number of infant and young child deaths
by two thirds and to improve maternal health by 2015.
"The US Agency for International Development (USAID)
is proud to have funded the development of this life-saving product," says
USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah.
"Today is a major step forward to making this
product more accessible to millions of women, empowering them with the ability
to make decisions about their health and family."
“The Children’s Investment Fund is proud to be part of
this agreement, which will significantly expand access to reliable
contraceptives, an important factor in ensuring adolescent reproductive
health,” says Jamie Cooper-Hohn, CEO and President of Children’s Investment
Fund Foundation and UN Commissioner on Life-Saving Commodities.
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