Countdown 2015 Europe
"No one should die for want of a three cent condom"Sexual and reproductive health is essential to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Within this ensuring that all people everywhere have access to reproductive health supplies is central. Interact Worldwide have joined together in Countdown 2015 Europe with nine leading European sexual and reproductive health and rights organisations for a campaign to call for increased donor support for reproductive health supplies and improved coordination and coherence in providing supplies.
Countdown 2015 Europe was launched in September 2007 in the UK, Germany, France, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands and in Brussels. We will be monitoring these donor government's, the EU's and the EC's commitment to providing greater access to reproductive health supplies in developing countries. In addition, we aim to increase awareness of the need to narrow the gap between the demand and supply of supplies.
We want to see European donors increasing their commitment to reproductive health supplies and taking the lead on ensuring universal access to reproductive health supplies is achieved.
What are Reproductive Health Supplies?
Reproductive health supplies (RHS) are not just condoms and other contraceptives.
According to UNFPA, they refer to ‘all the essential equipment, commodities and medicines required for sexual and reproductive health, maternal and neonatal health and for effective responses to HIV and AIDS'.
Why do we need to increase funding?
Every single minute a women dies due to a lack of emergency obstetric care, usually due to lack of supplies. It is estimated that 137 million women globally have an unmet need for contraception. Almost two thirds of women in Sub-Saharan Africa are not using modern methods of contraception and almost half are using no method of family planning.
There is currently a massive gap between the demand for RHS and their supply, due to rising demand and falling support.
- There are now more people of reproductive age - current 15-25 year olds are the largest ever generation of young people
- Increased demand - use of RHS is expected to increase 40% by 2015 due to population growth and the success of family planning programmes.
- Increased transmission of HIV - 75% of all infections are through sexual transmission, making condoms essential for HIV prevention.
For more information on Countdown 2015 Europe in the UK please email Amy Whalley at whalleya@interactworldwide.org or visit our website.
EVENTS
EUROPEAN JOURNALISTS STUDY TOUR: MALAWI 26TH APRIL - 5TH MAY 2008
Malawi has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, lack of access to reproductive health supplies is a key factor in these unnecessary deaths. Interact Worldwide, together with Vaestollitto, led a group of European journalists from Ireland, Norway, Germany and Finland to Malawi to investigate this and how Malawi is struggling to acheive the health related Millennium Development Goals.
AID EFFECTIVENESS AND SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH: WHAT IS MORE AND BETTER SRH AID?
Interact Worldwide, together with Action for Global Health and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Population, Development and Reproductive Health, hosted an event on the 21st April 2008 The meeting discussed the best way to deliver current and increased levels of aid for sexual and reproductive health, in light of the increased focus on aid effectiveness, in the run up to this year's High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness. Ways of improving the effectiveness of current health, sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS spending were also explored. Speakers included Chris McCafferty MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group, Malcolm McNeill, Team Leader Global AIDS and Reproductive Health Team DFID and Dia Timmermans, UNFPA Senior Advisor on Aid Effectiveness.
RESOURCES
OPTIONS TO INCREASE INVESTMENT - Read the inception report of Countdown 2015 Europe that lays out the current estimates for ensuring universal access to reproductive health supplies.
ACHIEVING UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH - Read the recommendations of Countdown 2015 Europe on how the UK could play its part in acheiving universal access to reproductive health.
FINANCING UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH - Read the UK brief laying out the estimates of UK fair share to acheive universal access to reprodictive health
