Call to Action, by the Advocacy and Accountability Working Group, Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition, 24 June 2020
The Covid-19 crisis risks halting, even reversing, global efforts toward universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights—a women’s right and a necessary precondition for sustainable development. RH supplies and services are essential and life-saving. Thus, they cannot be interrupted during a crisis. To mitigate interruptions in access to reproductive health supplies during the Covid-19 crisis and avoid their long-term public health consequences, including for reproductive health, we must act now. RH supplies and services must be included in Covid-19 emergency response interventions and policies; interruptions of supply chains must be solved; and a continued financial support to reproductive health supplies must be ensured.
Policy
We ask all governments to:
- Fast track regulatory approvals and registration
- Allow for provision of over-the-counter access
- Support advance provision
- Accelerate authority for, and investment in, telemedicine and self-care in line with WHO recommendations
- Accelerate authority for, and investment in, telemedicine and self-care in line with WHO recommendations
- Support demedicalization efforts and increase investment in self-care and telemedicine, including the supplies for these services and provision of legal and policy support.
Recommendations on supply chains and financing follow.
Implementing proactive measures during the crisis to improve access to RH supplies will also contribute to addressing long-standing barriers and increasing access to RH supplies in the longer term. Actions taken during the crisis, such as supporting self-care and improving the regulatory environment, will help to reduce the gaps between RH supplies and the women and girls who need them, even beyond the crisis.
Note: While this document is about access to contraception, practically all the recommendations can be applied (or adapted to apply) to safe abortions.
FULL CALL TO ACTION: (English/French/Spanish) ; SUMMARY: Arabic, Chinese, Portuguese, Hindi