Giving Compass' Take:

• Sandy Garçon describes how the Ignite project is working to increase access to contraceptives for youth in Haiti by working with supply chain players.  

• Can this model work to address other shortcomings of essential supplies? Where else in the world is supply chain an impediment to access to contraceptives? 

• Learn how philanthropists are working to increase access to contraceptives in Kenya. 

Although there is progress, use of modern contraceptives in Haiti remains stubbornly low. At 31 percent, the country’s unmet need for family planning is among the highest in the world.

Haiti also has a high rate of teen pregnancy, which intensifies risks for both girls and their babies. A startling one in three of those who give birth are under 20 years old. Fifty percent of girls and women ages 15 to 24 want contraception but don’t have access to it.

“We cannot continue to bury our heads in the sand when we have pregnancies that are happening to 14 and 15-year-olds,” says Dr. Reynold Grand’ Pierre, director of the Family Health Unit of Haiti’s Ministry of Health.

In support of efforts to reverse adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health and rights (AYSRHR) trends in the country, PSI and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs have joined forces with the government of Haiti. Countering the risks associated with early pregnancy and unsafe abortions necessitates radically broadening how girls can source sexual and reproductive health services. Doing so effectively, however, requires better addressing the supply and demand realities on the ground.

Through the Ignite project, PSI is working to give young consumers easier access to family planning solutions by transforming the health market and ensuring sustainability beyond the life of the project.

We take a look at the different players along the supply chain working to increase and sustain the informed use of contraception among Haitian girls and women aged 15 to 24.

Read the full article about increasing access to contraceptives by Sandy Garçon at PSI.