Updates
New partnership with the Gates Foundation
08 Mar 2022
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will support the WHO/UNFPA Prequalification Programme with 400,000 USD in 2022.
The investment will help assure male latex condoms, female condoms, and copper TCu380A IUDs procured for family planning programmes in developing countries meet international standards of quality, safety, and performance.
Equitable access to safe, affordable and quality-assured health products
The objectives of the WHO/UNFPA Prequalification Programme are aligned with the aim of the Global Health division of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations to reduce inequities in health by developing new tools and strategies to reduce the burden of infectious disease and the leading causes of child mortality in developing countries.
"This support means joining forces to provide equitable access to quality-assured sexual and reproductive products", explains Seloi Mogatle, Quality Assurance Specialist at UNFPA.
The WHO/UNFPA Prequalification programme works to improve access to condoms and IUDs that meet internationally acceptable quality standards. These products contribute to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation strategies for HIV prevention and effective family planning in resource-constrained countries. Access to quality-assured products empower women and girls to take charge of their own health, make informed decisions about family planning and have access to quality contraceptive options that meet their needs.
“We believe access to needed medical products is a fundamental human right. However, when those products don’t meet international quality standards, the promise of access goes unfulfilled”, explains Murray Lumpkin, M.D., Lead for Global Regulatory Systems Initiatives at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The programme has a strong focus on regulatory systems strengthening in the area of regulatory oversight of condoms and IUDs. This is in line with the foundation’s objective of optimizing regulatory systems to accelerate the regulatory approval and development of effective enabling platforms, which meet international standards, to advance global health.
Follow the road to quality in this infographic to learn how UNFPA prequalifies condoms.
