MSI and UNFPA sign agreement to address unmet need
London – Marie Stopes International (MSI) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have just signed an agreement to expand access to contraception in underserved communities in Africa and Asia. Under the agreement, UNFPA will provide $2.5million worth of family planning supplies to MSI programmes around the world. The supplies will be used in MSI programmes in a number of countries including Sierra Leone, the Philippines, Zimbabwe, Nepal and Tanzania.
“This support is vital to the continued efforts of MSI country programmes to provide quality family planning to underserved women in rural areas and urban slums," said Dana Hovig, MSI’s Chief Executive. “These supplies will not only enable us to make services generally available, but also to offer the greatest range of contraceptive choice for women."
More than 200 million women around the world want to use contraception but don’t have access to it, often due to supply shortages.
MSI estimates that it will protect 88% more couples from unplanned pregnancy this year compared to 2006. This rapid growth has strained the supplies that MSI receives from governments, international donors and MSI's own resources.
"This agreement with the UNFPA will help to address the supply shortages and enable us to continue serving the underserved in the countries where we operate", said Hovig. "It could not have come at a better time.”
The MSI-UNFPA agreement comes just days before this year's World Contraception Day (26 September), which will shine a light on the growing need for contraception globally.