December 9, 2022

Contraceptive market declines amid challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, yet method-specific trends show resilience

Clinton Health Access Initiative and Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition release the 2022 Family Planning Market Report

Dec. 9, 2022The value of the public-sector contraceptive market contracted by eight percent in 2021 relative to 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic impact and funding challenges, according to a new report released by The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) and the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition (RHSC).

Decreased procurement of injectables and oral contraceptives drove the market decline, which reached US$263 million in 2021 across 83 countries.[1] Market volumes[2] decreased in this period by 15 percent. Long-acting methods continue to comprise the majority share of couple-years of protection (CYPs) shipped, with growth in the share of implants and hormonal IUDs.

Stakeholders acknowledge that 2021 was a uniquely tough year for contraceptive procurement as COVID-19 presented multiple challenges in the form of funding disruptions, supply chain delays, and increased freight costs.

“Despite COVID’s ongoing disruption to services, supply chains, and SRH funding, our community has continued to work exceptionally hard together to mitigate the impact of these challenges,” said RHSC Director Martyn Smith. “We are clear-eyed about the challenges that lie ahead and draw confidence from our collective resilience displayed over the last three years.”

Looking forward, demand for safe, affordable, and quality-assured contraception is only expected to grow in low- and middle-income countries, driving the need for increased contraceptive procurement funding over time and for continued efforts to make family planning services more affordable and accessible.

Overall, the 2022 Family Planning Market Report found that the community can learn from the experiences of 2021 and build greater resilience to unexpected changes in supply chain delivery and the funding landscape.

 “The need for reliable access to contraceptive products is critical now more than ever to meet the growing demand from women and girls for quality reproductive health products and services,” said Mindy Scibilia, Director of Sexual and Reproductive Health at CHAI. “It’s important for the community to continue to prioritize and invest in reproductive health commodities to empower women and ensure the commodities they need remain available.”

What is the Family Planning Market Report?

The 2022 Family Planning Market Report provides visibility into the public-sector contraceptive market across 83 LMICs. The report is a product of the Global Markets Visibility Project and is jointly produced by RHSC and CHAI. Report analyses are made possible due to the participation of 17 partner suppliers who each year share their data with CHAI and RHSC to develop this report. The report tracks trends and insights across the market for donors, ministries of health, implementing organizations, and suppliers to increase access to family planning products and services in low-resource settings.

Read the report

###

About the Global Markets Visibility Project | The project is a landmark initiative that has provided the reproductive health community with detailed assessments of the public-sector family planning market across the 69 FP2020 focus countries (and, this year, the FP2030 focus countries) since 2015. The initiative provides insightful and strategic outputs for donors, MOHs, implementing organizations, and suppliers to develop and implement more effective strategies to enable users in the FP2020 (and now FP2030) focus countries to access family planning products and services.

About RHSC| The Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition is a global partnership of more than 550 public, private, and non-governmental organizations dedicated to ensuring that all people in low- and middle-income countries can access and use affordable, high-quality supplies to ensure their better reproductive health.  For more information, please visit: www.rhsupplies.org.

About CHAI | The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low- and middle-income countries. Together with partners, it works to strengthen the capabilities of governments and the private sector to create and sustain high-quality health systems that can succeed without ongoing assistance. For more information, please visit: www.clintonhealthaccess.org.

Contact

Corina Milic, Acting Director of Communications, CHAI: cmilic@clintonhealthaccess.org

Hannah Pandian, Senior Communications Officer, RHSC: hpandian@rhsupplies.org

[1] The 83 LMICs are defined as low- and lower-middle income countries as per the World Bank income classification. This is in line with the new reporting architecture announced by FP2030 in 2021. Further information on the low- and lower-middle income countries for which FP2030 will report data is available here: https://fp2030.org/sites/default/files/Data-Hub/FP2030_DataReport_v5.pdf. Note that the FP2030 report includes 82 low- and lower-middle income countries, which is one fewer than the 83 countries in-scope for the Family Planning Market Report. Due in part to data challenges, FP2030 is not presently reporting data on Western Sahara (which was formerly among the 69 FP2020 focus countries.) After consultation with FP2030, however, CHAI and the RHSC have kept Western Sahara in scope for the FP Market Report, for a total of 83 in-scope LMICs.

[2] Excluding male condoms

Back To Top