World Contraception Day 2021

Healthcare leaders come together to empower women across APAC to take control of their health in the digital age amid COVID-19

• Eighteen months after the pandemic began, around 12 million women in the Asia-Pacific region have experienced contraception interruptions, resulting in 1.4 million unwanted pregnancies (1)
• The #TakeControl Roundtable brings together key stakeholders across the region to promote women’s access to health care, leveraging key pillars of digitization, innovation and collaboration
• 16 representatives from local governments, NGOs, telemedicine providers and industry associations, including healthcare professionals and digital influencers, have jointly committed to empowering women to continue making informed decisions about family planning and health

On World Prevention Day (September 26), health professionals, policy makers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), telemedicine providers, industry associations and digital influencers came together to underline their commitment to helping women take control of their health and lives , at a virtual round table in the Asia-Pacific region entitled #TakeControl: Shaping Digital Health for Women in the COVID Decade on September 24th.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, millions of women have lost the ability to plan for their families and protect their health. Given the urgent need to do more dedicated work to ensure continuity of access to health care, Bayer has convened the virtual round table in collaboration with key organizations in the region. The event unveiled the impact of COVID-19 on women’s access to health care and highlighted the critical role digital technology and collaboration play in creating a strengthened future for women’s health and family planning.

The virtual round table consists of three different expert panels and also marks the 15th anniversary of World Prevention Day with important partners such as the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Pathfinder International, the Commission on Population and Development of Philippines (POPCOM), the Indonesia Midwives Association, Taiwan Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology (TAOG), DOC2US, Malaysian Pharmacists Society, and Reach52.

The first panel of experts, No Woman Left Behind: COVID-19 and Unplanned Pregnancies, raised awareness of the urgent impact of COVID-19 on women’s access to health and family planning resources and the burden of unplanned pregnancies. Data from International Planned Parenthood says that by April 2020, 5,633 inpatient and mobile clinics and community-based care services in 64 countries had closed due to the outbreak (2).

“We observed three key delays exacerbated by the outbreak that led to an increase in unplanned pregnancies: delays in receiving family planning information to women, delays in access to medical facilities, doctors and medication due to restricted mobility, and delays in the resumption of health services, ”said Dr. Jameel Zamir, Director of Programs and Performance, East South East Asia and Oceania Region (ESEAOR), Malaysia, International Planned Parenthood Federation, during the first panel of experts. “On the ground, I’ve seen supply chain problems, overstretched healthcare facilities, and women who feared getting medical care.

Since mobility restrictions cause many women to look online for more information about health and family planning, barriers such as misunderstandings and cultural and social stigma also present challenges in these areas.

The second expert panel, Step Into Her World: Engaging to Empower Online, discussed the main causes of misinformation about online family planning and contraception, the need for credible voices on popular platforms and the importance of sustainable dialogue.

“A lot of women in the Philippines are going online now, and I’ve seen a shift in attitudes and demands for more doctors who are online too. The sad thing is that a lot of women are online, but not the doctors, ”said Dr. Michelle Dado, OBGYN & Digital Thought Leader, President of Quezon City Medical Society District IV (Philippines), on the second panel of experts. “Education is the only way to encourage healthcare professionals to become digitally savvy and transfer what they do in one-to-one counseling to an online platform. This will help break the endless cycle of misinformation on the internet, which in turn can lead many young women to make misinformed contraceptive decisions. “

In addition to flourishing online platforms, the pandemic has also accelerated the digitization of the healthcare system to an unprecedented extent. Experts from the third final panel, The New Phygital: Innovating Expanded Access to Women’s Health, shed light on how technology was critical to the recovery and resilience of today’s health systems to expand women’s access to health and family planning solutions.

“Our diverse region has some of the highest unmet need for contraception and the lowest prevalence rate for contraception, and these statistics are worrying. The good news is that digitally we are the fastest growing region and digital platforms have the potential to bring three key elements to the empowerment of women: pre- and post-contraception support, access to information and contraception, and privacy, ”said Jack Shen Lim. Honorary Treasurer, Malaysian Pharmacists Society, on the third panel of experts. “With everything on one platform that people can access conveniently and privately from home, we can intensively improve women’s access to health care, family planning and contraception and reduce the rate of unplanned pregnancies.”

At the end of the virtual round table, all 16 panelists made a joint commitment to renew their commitment to empower women to take control of their health and life despite the pandemic. They also called for wider public support to join the pledge to give voice to health needs and women’s empowerment.

“Protecting women’s health and sustaining advances in access to contraception remains our top priority amid COVID-19. Multi-stakeholder collaboration and digital innovation are vital to support family planning with uninterrupted access to contraception and to increase knowledge about women’s health, family planning and birth control, “said Dr. Shivani Kapur, Head of Medical Affairs, Pharmaceuticals Division Asia / Pacific, Bayer. “Our longstanding commitment to women’s health drives us to create a better future – by empowering women to make informed decisions about their health and family planning, and by driving an innovative portfolio of women’s health treatments to provide women with the right ones Solutions to help at the right time and on the right platforms. “

Throughout the Asia-Pacific region, Bayer has worked with governments and organizations to promote initiatives to promote awareness and education about contraception. These include partnerships with the BKKBN in Indonesia, the POPCOM in the Philippines, the Bureau of Reproductive Health of the Ministry of Health in Thailand as well as the Family Planning and Women’s Union (FPWU) and the Government Office of Family Planning (GOPFP) in Vietnam. In order to achieve its vision of “health for all, hunger for nobody”, Bayer will continue to invest in multi-stakeholder aid programs to provide 100 million women in low and middle income countries with access to modern methods of contraception by 2030.

Further information on the subject of contraception and education can be found at https://www.your-life.com

Reference:

(1) UNFPA (2021). PRESS RELEASE

New UNFPA data shows that nearly 12 million women have lost access to contraception due to the disruption caused by the pandemic, resulting in 1.4 million unwanted pregnancies. United Nations Population Fund.

Retrieved from: https://www.unfpa.org/press/new-unfpa-data-reveals-nearly-12-million-women-lost-access-contraception-due-disruptions

(2) International Planned Parenthood Federation “The COVID-19 pandemic is restricting access to sexual and reproductive health care for women around the world.” Https://www.ippf.org/news/covid-19-pandemic-cuts -access-sexual-and-reproductive-healthcare-women-around-world

COR-UN-WHC-TH-0004-1 (09/21)

source https://www.bisayanews.com/2021/09/29/world-contraception-day-2021/