Abstract
Many countries are now beginning to purchase family planning commodities as a step toward contraceptive security. In the past, most governments in countries that received donated contraceptives did not have to manage the procurement process. Typically, these countries would estimate the number and types of commodities needed and donors would handle the administrative process of purchasing. As governments increasingly fund their own contraceptive supplies for public-sector programs, they are taking a more active role in procuring them.
Contraceptive procurement with public-sector funding is generally a technical and administrative process. In most cases, procurement officers are charged with addressing the many details associated with government purchases, involving a level of detail well beyond the usual level required for policymakers, program managers, and advocates. However, there are a number of issues related to contraceptive procurement that policy audiences should understand so they can more effectively address and support contraceptive security. This brief examines those critical issues: how procurement processes work; different modalities for procurement; barriers to low-cost commodities; successful approaches for obtaining lower-cost contraceptives; and procurement options in decentralized settings.
