Number and type of commercial contraceptive products on the market and their prices

Number and type of commercial contraceptive products on the market and their prices

Number and type of commercial contraceptive products on the market and their prices

The number and types of commercial contraceptive products that are stocked in private sector (PS) outlets and the median and ranges of their prices in a country or designated area during a specified time period.

The private sector is defined as all the providers, suppliers, and ancillary and support services that lie outside the public sector. These include commercial or for-profit entities, franchises, multinational corporations, non-profit organizations, community groups, informal vendors, and private providers, such as doctors, pharmacies, and hospital staff (Armand et al., 2007).

The basic contraceptives available should include those in the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines – oral hormonal contraceptive pills, injectable hormonal contraceptives, IUDs, barrier methods (condoms and diaphragms), and hormonal implants (WHO, 2011).

This indicator is closely related to those for Improved market segmentation, viability, and sustainability in the expanded Strengthening Health Outcomes though the Private Sector (SHOPS) Project (Abt, 2009) and for Increased non-public share of the market for condoms, pills, and injectables in the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework of the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition (RHSC, 2009). For more details on these related indicators, see Abt (2009) Abt (2011); Abt (2005); and RHSC (2009).

This indicator is calculated as:

Number of each type of contraceptive products stocked in PS outlets in a country or designated area at the time of survey or during a specified period of time.

The median and range of prices for each type of contraceptive products stocked in PS outlets in a country or designated area at time of survey or during a specified period of time.

Data Requirement(s):

Information on the contraceptive methods available in the PS and their current prices. For additional information on assessing and tracking commodities, see also the database section on Commodity Security and Logistics. The data can be disaggregated by the type of PS facility or program (commercial for-profit, non-profit organization, franchise, community groups, etc.), by the specific types of contraceptive methods available, and by other relevant factors such as districts, urban/rural location, and target populations.

PS facility and outlet inventory records and surveys; retail sales and pharmacy audits; and information management systems (IMS). In countries where available, DELIVER Project data can be used to assess supplies by sector for the range of modern contraceptive methods (DELIVER,  2006; DELIVER, 2011).  Where data have been collected using the WHO Service Readiness Assessment Survey (SARA), the quantities by sector will be available for combined oral contraceptive pills, progestin-only injectable contraceptives, and male condoms (WHO, 2010).  National surveys of essential medicines and commodity availability and prices using a standard methodology have been developed by WHO and Health Action International (HAI) ( WHO/HAI, 2008).

This indicator can be used to examine availability and affordability of individual contraceptive methods through the PS at the time of assessment and to compare trends over time. The prices can be compared to the median international reference prices for the types of contraceptives (as price per tablet or therapeutic unit) using data available through Management Sciences for Health (MSH, 2011).  As the availability can be quite different for each method, it is important for ministries of health (MOH), donors, and contractors to know what products exist in the commercial market, their market share, and relative costs. Given the importance of the PS in providing contraceptives, effective approaches for monitoring PS market segmentation and sustainability of contraceptive supplies and costs are essential. This indicator can be used for policy and planning purposes to track strengthening and scale-up of contraceptive supplies and services in the PS, in addition to identifying gaps and problems with PS supply chains and affordability for contraceptive methods. Strengthening PS involvement and sustainability in providing quality contraceptive methods and services is considered essential to achieving the Millennium Development Goals to #4 reduce child mortality and #5 improve maternal health.

Obtaining full and accurate information on PS entities that provide contraceptive methods can be problematic in settings where PS providers are not required to register with or report to government agencies, such as the MOH. Also, prices may vary greatly from one source to the next, in which case evaluators may want to use an average. This indicator measures availability and affordability of contraceptive methods through the PS, but the overall access to, distribution of, and quality of PS services can best be measured using a range of indicators that provide data on method procurement, storage, travel time to PS outlets, staffing, delivery of method services and follow-up, and client utilization and satisfaction (WHO, 2010).

access, family planning, private sector

Abt Associates, 2005, Performance Monitoring Indicators for the Private Sector Program (PSP), with Explanatory Notes,  Bethesda, MD: Abt Associates, Inc. https://www.shopsplusproject.org/sites/default/files/resources/1081_file_PSP_Perfomance_Monitoring_Indicators_April_1_2005.pdf

Abt Associates, 2009, Strengthening Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) Project:  Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP), Year 1, Bethesda: MD: ABT Asociates, Inc.

Abt Associates, 2011, Updated SHOPS Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP), Bethesda: MD: ABT Asociates, Inc.

Armand F., O’Hanlon B., McEuen M., Kolyada L., and Levin L. March 2007. Private Sector Contribution to Family Planning and Contraceptive Security in the Europe and Eurasia Region, Bethesda, MD: Private Sector Partnerships-One project, Abt Associates Inc.

DELIVER, 2006, Contraceptive Security index 2006 a tool for priority Setting and planning, Arlington, VA: John Snow, Inc., USAID DELIVER Project. https://www.who.int/rhem/policy/csinde_2006_book/en/

DELIVER, 2011, Family Planning Tools Website, Arlington VA: John Snow, Inc., USAID Deliver Project.

Management Sciences for Health (MSH), 2011, International Drug Price Indicator Guide, Cambridge, MA: MSH. http://erc.msh.org/mainpage.cfm?file=1.0.htm&module=DMP&language=english

Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition, 2009, Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition: Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (2007-2015), Brussels: RHSC.

WHO, 2010, Monitoring the building blocks of health systems: a handbook of indicators and their measurement strategies, Geneva: WHO. http://www.who.int/healthinfo/systems/WHO_MBHSS_2010_full_web.pdf

WHO, 2011, WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, 17th List (March 2011), Geneva, WHO. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2011/a95053_eng.pdf

WHO/Health Action International (HAI), 2008, Medicine Prices, Availability, and Price Components, Amsterdam: HAI. http://www.haiweb.org/medicineprices/manual/documents.html