Collaboration avec l’Organisation Ouest Africaine de la Santé (OOAS) pour Améliorer la Sécurité Contraceptive

This partnership aimed to enhance the availability and accessibility of quality contraceptives to individuals in need. WAHO's mission is to achieve the highest possible standard of health and sanitary protection for populations in 15 countries of the Economic Community of West African States. The USAID | PROJET DELIVER project, funded by the USAID West Africa Bureau, developed a strategic partnership with WAHO to create synergies with WAHO's reproductive health and HIV prevention program, financed by the German Cooperation (through KfW, the German Development Bank). Key achievements resulting from this partnership include WAHO's contribution to the Assisted Coordination Group for Reproductive Health Commodities (ACP) as a member of the group, increased collaboration in the execution of technical activities in the region, and the mobilization of funds to further support contraceptive security. At the end of 2012, WAHO joined the ACP group, which also includes UNFPA, USAID, and the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition (RHSC). The ACP group is a key actor in the contraceptive security alert system (SAP) that the project is currently implementing in the region. The SAP allows countries to report their contraceptive stock levels through the supply planning and tracking report (SPTR). The ACP group uses these data to resolve critical stock imbalances, such as stockouts and overstocks. WAHO's participation in the ACP group enabled it to closely monitor stock levels in the region, form strategic partnerships, and provide and receive information on purchases. Ellen T. Tompsett, the ACP group administrator at RHSC, wrote, "WAHO has been an invaluable partner that has enabled the ACP group to effectively resolve crises in the procurement domain in a region with numerous challenges in the domain of contraceptive security." A tangible result of WAHO's participation in the ACP group was achieved in late 2013, when the Ministry of Health in Burkina Faso requested the ACP group's assistance to transfer a stock of Noristerat, an injectable contraceptive, to another country in the region to prevent expiration. The ACP group identified the Ministry of Health in Benin as the recipient country, as it needed Noristerat. Through the reproductive health and HIV prevention program, WAHO financed and directed the transfer of over 192,000 Noristerat ampoules from Burkina Faso to Benin, saving approximately $250,000 in purchase costs. To help strengthen capacity in the supply chain in the region, WAHO engaged two training institutions, the Eastern and Southern African Management Institute (ESAMI) and Bioforce, to provide training in logistics and quantification. WAHO's investment in these training programs was made possible through technical and financial assistance from the project to these two training institutions, which strengthened their capacity to provide this training. To date, WAHO has supported the training of 62 individuals in these key technical areas, including 38 from ministries of health and 24 from social marketing organizations, member associations of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, and central purchasing agencies in the region. Additionally, the USAID | PROJET DELIVER project collaborated with the Ministry of Health in Niger and WAHO to conduct a situational analysis in September 2013. The conclusions of the situational analysis were used by the project, WAHO, and other partners to identify key interventions in the domain of contraceptive security, including the supply chain. WAHO found the results of the situational analysis so useful that it intends to extend it to other countries in West Africa. In a region with numerous challenges in the supply chain, collaboration among stakeholders is crucial. The long-term partnership between WAHO and the USAID | PROJET DELIVER project has created a regional approach to improve contraceptive security.