Coordination among various partners with different capacities, roles and mandates is key to a secure supply of reproductive health commodities. The importance of partnership and leveraging the comparative advantages of each agency is explicitly stated in the global reproductive health commodity security strategy. Major partners and donors working together toward this goal include:

Developing country governments: Governments assess demand, forecast, finance, procure and deliver reproductive health commodities. Governments have the closest links to users and their needs and know local conditions.

United Nations organizations and agencies: Partners in the UN provide coordination, technical information and guidance, and standards and quality assurance. In the area of reproductive health commodities, UNFPA often works closely with the World Health Organization and UNAIDS.

NGOs (international and local), inter-governmental organizations and contractors: These partners help national governments with advocacy, technical training, developing models, delivering services and exchanging information. The Interim Working Group on Reproductive Health Commodity Security (IWG) was formed in response to a call for the participation of a wide variety of stakeholders to address contraceptive shortfalls around the world. It is a collaborative effort involving John Snow Inc., Population Action International, the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) and the Wallace Global Fund.

Other major NGO partners include: Commercial Market Strategies (USAID), EURONGOs, Family Health International, International Council on Management of Population Programmes, the Futures Group, International Planned Parenthood Federation, International Projects Assistance Services, Management Sciences for Health (a private non-profit), Marie Stopes International, Partners in Population and Development, Population Action International, Population Concern, the Population Council, Program for Appropriate Technology in Health, the Swedish Association for Sexual Education and Väestöliitto (the Family Federation of Finland).

Bilateral donors: Donor countries such as Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States supply financial and technical support. They also collect data and conduct analyses that help UNFPA and its partners to understand commodity requirements.

The World Bank and regional development banks: These financial institutions promote sector-wide approaches and are restructuring the way governments organize services and allocate resources, so their collaboration ensures an ongoing focus on reproductive health commodity security.

Foundations: Foundations can provide flexible and long-term grants as required. Major donors include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the David and Lucille Packard Foundation, the United Nations Foundations and the Wallace Global Fund.

Commercial private sector: Half or more of the commodities used in some countries are provided by the commercial private sector. They make products and services more attractive and accessible to users who can pay commercial prices, and are central to sustainable programmes.

Private individuals: Individual people drive the demand side of the equation, and their private purchases of commodities can reduce the burden on public-sector programmes.

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