Contraceptive security: ready lessons II. 6. Mobilizing financial resources.

Resource mobilization for family planning programs and commodities requires constant attention from contraceptive security champions. The need for countries to mobilize sufficient resources for contraceptives and other components of FP programs (e.g. equipment communications research training supervision service delivery adequate staff ) is made even more urgent by the increasing number of women of reproductive age coupled with the growing demand for family planning. If resources from donors and governments do not keep pace with demand the burden for financing contraceptives will fall on clients and the use of modern methods could decrease especially among those who cannot afford to pay. Donor resources specifically earmarked for family planning and contraceptives are declining and government resources are under pressure from competing health priorities. The changing funding environment (donor phaseout shifts from direct provision of commodities to pooled funding and direct budget support decentralization and competing health priorities such as HIV) creates both challenges and opportunities for obtaining FP financing (see Ready Lesson II Overview: Contraceptive Security in a Changing Global Health Environment). It is therefore important that countries take action to mobilize and leverage additional resources explore new funding mechanisms and maximize use of existing resources to ensure access to contraceptives for all. Many countries – Bangladesh Egypt Madagascar Malawi Paraguay and Tanzania to name a few – have recently had important successes ensuring increased government and out-of-pocket resources for contraceptive purchases. (excerpt)