The United Nations Population Fund's strategy for reproductive health essentials seeks to mobilize partnerships at the global and national levels to achieve a secure, reliable supply of high-quality reproductive health commodities to all people in developing countries, at the right time and in the right place.

These essentials include not only family planning supplies but equipment for basic obstetric and maternal health care and for prevention and treatment of reproductive tract infections, including sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS.

No one organization can by itself meet this need. Governments, agencies, companies, groups and individuals must work together in a coordinated way.

Key components:

The strategy for reproductive health essentials has four components at the global and national levels:

Advocacy: to build a global political commitment to supplying high-quality, affordable commodities and services

• Formal and informal consultations, training, public relations, study tours, "good will" ambassadors, publications, newsletters and Web sites can spread word of the need and build support for it.

• Internal advocacy can promote agreement and action within organizations and governments to make reproductive health essentials a top priority at every level.

• Advocates can seek regulatory and tax environments that favor NGO and private sector involvement or spur advertising, public discussion and lower prices, as well as legal reform to promote gender equality.

• Partners can raise awareness of the growing gap between needs and resources.

Building national capacity: to forecast, finance, procure and deliver reliable supplies and services over the long term to all who need them

• Each country must design its own national strategy to meet its commodity requirements.

• Training and technical assistance must be tailored to each country's particular needs.

• A UNFPA database of technical resources is under development at the global level, along with guidelines, standards and protocols, publications on shared problems and solutions, and lists of tools needed to implement the strategy.

Resource mobilization : to ensure sustainable flows of funds and materials

• Fundraising must be targeted not only at traditional donors but also foundations, the public and the commercial private sector.

• Sustainable financing might include user fees for cost recovery, social marketing of subsidized branded products, encouragement for the use of private-sector products by those with the ability to pay, and investment in better management and efficient service provision.

• A wide disparity exists among countries in the proportion of domestic resources devoted to commodity supply. While some countries have few or no donors, nine countries receive nearly two-thirds of all contraceptive support

Coordination: to simplify procedures, minimize cost and maximize usefulness of the partners' work.

• Working groups of key partner agencies in each country can gather and analyze information, generate consensus around issues, segment the market and monitor the partners' efforts, ensuring accountability.

• Expanded databases, publications and Web sites improve communication.

The roles of our partners:

• Developing country governments need capacity to assess demand, forecast, finance, procure and deliver high-quality reproductive health commodities. They have the closest links to users and their needs and know local conditions.

• Bilateral donors such as Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States supply not only financial and technical support but also data and analyses to UNFPA that are critical to all partners' understanding of commodity requirements.

• World Bank and regional development banks promote sector-wide approaches and are helping to restructure the way governments organize services and allocate resources, so their collaboration is essential.

• United Nations organizations and agencies provide coordination, technical information and guidance, and standards and quality assurance. UNFPA, with 30 years' experience in population, family planning and reproductive health, is the lead agency.

• Foundations can provide flexible and long-term grants as required. Major donors include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the United Nations Foundation and the Wallace Global Fund.

• Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and contractors help national governments with advocacy, technical training, developing models, delivering services and exchanging information. Prominent ones include the network of European NGOs (EURONGOs), the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Population Action International, Family Health International, Marie Stopes International, Commercial Market Strategies, John Snow Inc., The Futures Group, Population Service Internation, Partners in Population and Development, and the International Council on Management of Population Programmes.

• Commercial private sector partners provide half or more of the commodities used in some countries. They make products and services more attractive and accessible to users who can pay commercial prices, and are key to sustainable programmes.

• Private individuals drive the demand side of the equation, and their private purchases of commodities can reduce the burden on public-sector programmes.