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Greetings,
This newsletter provides updates from the Hormonal IUD Access Group, a global consortium of governments, donors, manufacturers, procurement agencies, researchers, and service delivery organizations that are collaborating to expand access to the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine device (IUD) — also known as the hormonal IUD — in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) as part of a comprehensive contraceptive method mix.
In this newsletter you will find the following updates:
Register now! Webinar on Digital Training Approaches for Hormonal IUD Providers
On June 2 at 9am ET / 2pm WAT, the Hormonal IUD Access Group will sponsor a webinar entitled, “Digital Training Approaches for Family Planning Providers: Emerging Evidence and Resources.” Register here.
As new and lesser-used contraceptives– including the hormonal IUD – are introduced in more countries, innovative approaches to train family planning (FP) providers can help expand access and choice. Digital trainings, which are considered part of the High Impact Practice for digital health, can improve provider knowledge and skills and may offer cost-efficient opportunities to ensure providers are well-prepared to counsel and offer FP methods, even when in-person gatherings are restricted such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. This event will include:
- An overview of the need for digital training solutions for FP providers - Dr. Kayode Afolabi from the Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria
- Results from a recent study evaluating the feasibility and acceptability of a hybrid digital approach to train providers on the hormonal IUD in Nigeria – Dr. Ezechukwu Nwokoma, Society for Family Health, and Dr. Helen Anyasi, FHI 360
- An overview of other online training resources for FP providers with a focus on resources to support hormonal IUD introduction to expand contraceptive choice. This will include an overview of the Training Resource Package for Family Planning, as well as updates from Bayer and Medicines360.
This event will highlight research funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Research for Scalable Solutions (R4S) project and by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through the LEAP project.
Register for the event today!
Exciting Updates from Suppliers of Quality-Assured Hormonal IUDs
As important partners in the global effort to increase access to the method, hormonal IUD suppliers play a critical role in ensuring affordability and availability of quality-assured products. Several recent updates include:
- Mirena, a hormonal IUD product supplied by Bayer, was recently prequalified by the World Health Organization. Read other recent updates here.
- Avibela, a hormonal IUD product supplied by Medicines360 through its subsidiary Impact RH360, was recently launched in Nigeria. Read other recent updates here.
Catalytic Opportunity Fund Accepting Applications to Support Hormonal IUD Introduction Activities
The Catalytic Opportunity Fund (COF) for new and lesser-used reproductive health (RH) products provides short-term grants to fund catalytic activities that support introduction or scale-up of reproductive health products including the hormonal IUD. The COF is a flexible pool of funds that is administered by the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) and managed by global steering committees. After a pause earlier this year, the COF is now accepting new applications for hormonal IUD activities again. You can learn more about the various funding streams, eligibility criteria, supported countries, and application requirements in English here or French here. Please contact the COF team at cof@clintonhealthaccess.org if you have any questions
In Case You Missed It: New Article & Recordings Now Available
- A new article by Brunie et al., “What are the prospects for the hormonal IUD in the public sector? A mixed-method study of the user population in Zambia,” is now available here. For additional literature on introduction of the hormonal IUD in low- and middle-income countries, check out this annotated bibliography.
- Couple Years of Protection (CYP) is an output indicator that is commonly used to monitor progress and measure performance of family planning programs. The CYP conversion factors were recently updated including changes for the hormonal IUD from 3.3 CYP per insertion to 4.8 per insertion. View the recording from a recent webinar about these updates.
- Harmonizing pharmaceutical product labeling (i.e., using identical labeling across multiple countries) can create time and cost efficiencies that benefit stakeholders across the value chain. View the recording of a recent webinar and download slides to learn about efforts led by Impact RH360/Medicines360, WCG Cares, and FHI 360 to develop a strategy for harmonizing labeling for Impact RH360’s hormonal IUD product, Avibela. Insights from this assessment may be helpful for suppliers, procurers, and others who seek to harmonize labeling for global health products.
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