Unified Women's Healthcare’s Post

This week, we continue to explore the Market Development Approach (MDA) and its impact on #FamilyPlanning and #MaternalHealth outcomes developed by the Chemonics-led USAID Frontier Health Markets (FHM) Engage project. The fourth brief in the series explores the concept of stewardship in the context of an MDA and how stewardship can support larger and more sustainable outcomes in family planning and reproductive health. Read the brief here: https://ow.ly/CHej50QSjya

In the context of healthcare, equity remains a pressing issue. Black women disproportionately lack access to essential reproductive health services. Bridging this gap is key to safeguarding maternal health and building a healthier future. During Black Maternal Health Week, let's commit to advancing healthcare equity for all. #BlackMaternalHealthWeek #HealthEquity #ReproductiveJustice #MaternalHealth #PublicHealthInitiatives

April 11-17 is Black Maternal Health Week in the US, and this year’s theme is “Our Bodies STILL Belong to Us: Reproductive Justice NOW!” Learn more at https://lnkd.in/ehYr8bpt.

Mark your calendars for #MaternalHealthAwarenessDay on January 23! Join ACOG in raising awareness about the maternal health care access crisis and the need for collaboration and actionable solutions. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3wm7FhJ According to data, over one in five US women who had abortions in the first half of 2023 had to travel to another state in order to receive care. According to Guttmacher's data, spikes have been especially notable in states that support abortion but border states that have strict gestational limits or abortion bans. One such instance is the recent surge in patient population from Texas and Oklahoma to New Mexico, where restrictions on abortion have made the procedure all but impossible with only a few, closely regulated exceptions. According to Guttmacher data, around 74% of abortion patients administered in New Mexico were from other states. According to the data, the number of abortions performed in New Mexico grew by 279% between 2020 and 2023, or 8,200 additional abortions overall. These statistics underscore the need of sustained campaigning and education about reproductive rights. The increasing trend of cross-state travel for abortion services highlights the critical importance of ensuring equitable access to safe and legal reproductive healthcare for all individuals, regardless of their geographical location. ##MaternalHealthAwarenessDay #maternalmentalhealth #maternalhealth

It was a pleasure to attend this terrific event - kudos to the Linksbridge and BMGF teams - Gaurvika Nayyar MPH MBA, Marina Theopold (Krommenacker), Lena Stashko, Dena Seabrook for curating a thought-provoking three days. My personal highlights below. I might have failed at being succinct despite my efforts: 📢 Regional manufacturing of vaccines and more is the rage. It is also full of trade-offs and some cognitive dissonance. What will the impact of more regional manufacturers have on global market dynamics? What might be some new ‘demand underwriting tools’ that can bring more certainty to unknown markets? Thank you to Harsh Mehta, Aayush Solanki Hassan Belkhayat Prashant Yadav 📢 With an increasing focus on localization, country-level decision-making and prioritization becomes ever more important. How can domestic health financing better support market shaping interventions? Excited to see how Bhavya G. and her team at Results for Development explore this. Kudos to other champions who spoke on the need to base decisions in locally driven priority-setting processes Ioana Ursu Greg Widmyer 📢 What happens when TAM takes SAM out on a date? They discover SOM! Getting lost? Understanding serviceable obtainable market (SOM) is becoming ever more important in a world of increasing product choice and fiscal pressures. It was re-affirming to see this theme reiterated throughout the event - check out suggested definitions and more in our Discerning demand publication. 📢The non-donor funded commodities need attention. Country-based market shaping (or pharmaceutical and procurement policy?) efforts such as those in Ethiopia may serve as good examples but we need more collective action for ensuring the availability of affordable, high-quality, mostly generic products. Thank you Solomon Nigussie for sharing Ethiopia’s success story. 📢 We need to engage distributors in these conversations. The lack of their absence was striking and we can do better on this next time. Kudos to my colleagues at Market Access Africa for highlighting creative ideas on how we can work more with private distributors to achieve access goals. Excited to dig deeper into this! Finally - We need to invest in capturing case studies of what’s worked and also what hasn’t worked in global health market shaping. We need safe spaces for honest conversations. I’m excited about the idea of a global health market dynamics curriculum and thank Anne Liu and Samson Jarso for recent collaborations on this concept. Loved re-connecting with old friends and colleagues I’ve come across throughout my career: Andre Daniel Morais (LSE alumna ‘08!), David Ripin, Hema Srinivasan, Marie Chantale J. Lepine, Michael Anderson CB,  learning about new business models for reaching women in low-income communities (Joanna Bichsel), exploring the potential for market shaping on drones (Olivier Defawe Ph.D.)and genome sequencing (Belinda Ngongo). And so many more. It was fun.

The largely untold story of menopause and why it matters at work Women's health doesn't just = reproductive health. Menopause is often misunderstood and under-supported in the workplace. thrive is excited to have Susan A. Miele, PhD share her journey during next week's quarterly event! If you are in HR and are interested in attending, please let me know. See link to Susan's blog post on the topic below.

ICMR has successfully completed a clinical trial on the world's first male contraceptive. Amazing, isn't it? Exciting news for reproductive health and family planning! Congratulations to ICMR and team! While the completion of a clinical trial for a male contraceptive is undoubtedly a noteworthy feat, it's essential to acknowledge that more comprehensive research is needed before widespread use can be considered. Safety, efficacy, and long-term effects must be rigorously assessed to ensure the well-being of users. Additionally, cultural and societal factors may influence the acceptance and adoption of this method, warranting careful consideration during implementation. What do my friends think about this? #health #healthcare #familyplanning #reproductivehealth #ICMR https://lnkd.in/dJKmnJhr

To commemorate World Contraceptive Day, Gilda Sedgh, Sarah Onyango and I have written a blog on #selfcare and its potential to advance family planning. Self-Care Trailblazer Group, Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition, Population Council, Ben Bellows, Nandita Thatte, DrPH, Manjulaa Narasimhan Read our blog in the attachment.

Missed the 2023 Family Planning Market Report Webinar? Watch a recording summarizing key findings from our 2023 #FPMarketReport, including insightful remarks from reproductive health experts. Watch here: https://ow.ly/L8mv50QtYgn Review the report for a comprehensive summary of the key takeaways and insights shared during the webinar: https://ow.ly/CmU850QtYgp Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition

Dean Vincent Guilamo-Ramos is a member of the newly announced NASEM/NAM Standing Committee on #ReproductiveHealth, Equity, and Society. On 10/ 5, the committee will host a public workshop on the data available to measure the effects of the #Dobbs decision on health & well-being, and what additional data are needed now, and in the future, to understand the full landscape of issues affecting reproductive health, equity, and society. Presenters will examine considerations for data generation, data integrity, data-sharing, patient privacy, and legal implications. Register now: https://bit.ly/3KZh86c #HEALTHEQUITY